LINCOLN  ROOM 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
LIBRARY 


MEMORIAL 
the  Class  of  1901 

founded  by 

HARLAN  HOYT  HORNER 

and 
HENRIETTA  CALHOUN  HORNER 


^/rVrfi^na^t^ 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN'S 
SPEECHES. 


COMPILED   BY 

L.  E.   CHITTENDEN, 

!5r=&efiigttr  of  ti)t  ZEreaaurg, 

AUTHOR  OF  "PRESIDENT  LINCOLN,"  "PERSONAL 
REMINISCENCES,"  ETC. 


NEW    YORK: 

DODD,  MEAD   AND    COMPANY. 
1895. 


Copyright,  1S95, 
BY  DODD,  MEAD  AND  COMPANY. 


SSntberaitg 
JOHN  WILSON  AND  SON,  CAMBRIDGE,  U.S.A. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

INTRODUCTION i 

Address  to  the  People  of  Sangamon  County  ...        9 
From  his  Address  before  the  Young  Men's  Lyceum 
of  Springfield,  Illinois,  on  the  Perpetuation  of  our 

Political  Institutions 18 

Mr.  Lincoln's  Earliest  Announcement  of  His  Politi- 
cal Opinions 24 

From  his  Protest  in  the  Journal  of  the  Legislature 

of  Illinois,  signed  by  Mr.  Lincoln  and  Dan  Stone       25 
Extracts  from  a  Political  Debate  between  Mr.  Lin- 
coln, E.  D.  Baker,  and  others,  against  Stephen  A. 
Douglas,   Josiah  Lamborn,  and   others,  held  in 
the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  in  Springfield, 

Illinois 26 

Extracts  from  his  Address  before  the  Springfield 

Washingtonian  Temperance  Society 29 

From  the  Circular  of  the  Whig  Committee     ...       34 
From  his  Speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives 

of  the  United  States 37 

The  Eulogy  upon  Henry  Clay 40 

From  his  Reply  to  Senator  Douglas,  delivered  at 

Peoria,  Illinois.  Origin  of  the  Wilmot  Proviso  .  43 
Extracts  from  Letter  to  Joshua  F.  Speed  ....  53 
From  his  Discussion  of  the  Decision  in  the  Dred 

Scott  Case,  at  Springfield,  Illinois 60 

The  "  Divided  House  "  Speech  delivered  at  Spring- 
field, Illinois,  on  his  Nomination  to  the  Senate  of 
the  United  States 71 


iv  CONTENTS. 

•     PAGE 

From  his  Speech  at  Chicago,  in  reply  to  the  Speech 
of  Judge   Douglas,  on  the    Evening    of  July  9, 

1858 :     .     .       86 

From  his  Speech  at  Springfield,  Illinois      .     .     .     .     117 
The  Lincoln  and  Douglas  Debate : 

The  First  Meeting  at  Ottawa,  Illinois  ....  124 
From  the  Debate  at  Freeport,  Illinois  ....  142 
In  Mr.  Lincoln's  Rejoinder  to  Judge  Douglas  at 

Freeport 147 

From  Mr.  Lincoln's  Reply  at  Jonesboro.  .  .  .  149 
From  Mr.  Lincoln's  -Rejoinder  to  Judge  Douglas 

at  Charlestown,  Illinois 165 

From  Mr.  Lincoln's  Reply  to  Judge  Douglas  at 

Galesburg,  Illinois 169 

Mr.  Lincoln's  Reply  to  Judge  Douglas  in  the  Sev- 
enth and  Last  Joint  Debate  at  Alton,  Illinois  .     172 

From  his  Speech  at  Columbus',  Ohjo 181 

From  his  Sj>^ech  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio 192 

From  his  Speech  of  February  27, 1860,  at  the  Cooper 

Institute,  New  York 205 

From  his  Speech  at  "New  Haven,  Connecticut     .     .     213 
His  Letter  to  Hon.  Geo.  Ashmun,  President,  accept- 
ing his  Nomination  for  the  Presidency    ....     222 
To  the  Citizens  of  Springfield,  on  his  departure  for 

Washington 223 

From  his  Remarks  at  Indianapolis,  Indiana    .     .     .     224 
From  his  Address  to  the  Legislature  at  Indianapo- 
lis, Indiana 225 

From  his  Address  to  the  Legislature  at  Columbus. 

Ohio 227 

From  his  Remarks  at  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania  .     .     229 
From  his  Address  at  Trenton,  to  the  Senate  of  New 

Jersey ...     232 

Address  at  Independence  Hall,  Philadelphia  .     .     .     234 
From  his  Reply  to  the  Governor,  and  his  Address 
to  the  Legislature  at  Harrisburgh,  Pennsylvania .     236 


CONTENTS.  v 

PAGE 

Reply  tg  the  Mayor  of  Washington,  D.  C 238 

From  the  First  Inaugural  Address 240 

From  his  First  Message  to  Congress,  at  the  Special 

Session,  July  4,  1861 249 

From  his  Message  to  Congress  at  its  Regular  Ses- 
sion ' 259 

His  Reply  to  the  Lutheran  Ministers 265 

From  a  Letter  to  General  McClellan 266 

From  his  Proclamation  revoking  General  Hunter's 
Order  setting  the  Slaves  free  ;  and  offering  Com- 
pensated Emancipation  to  Slave  Owners     .     .     .  268 
Appeal  to  the  Border  States  to  accept  Compensated 

Emancipation 269 

Letter  to  Cuthbert  Bullitt 273 

From  his  Letter  to  Count  Gasparin 277 

His  Letter  to  Horace  Greeley 279 

From  his  Reply  to  the  Chicago  Committee  of 
United  Religious  Denominations,  urging  imme- 
diate Emancipation- 281 

His   Order  to   remember  and   keep  the   Sabbath 

Day 286 

From  the  Annual  Message  to  Congress 287 

Draft  of  the  Proclamation  of  Emancipation  as  Sub- 
mitted to  the  Cabinet  for  Final  Revision  .  .  .  294 

The  Proclamation  of  Emancipation 295 

From  his  Message  to  Congress 298 

His    Letter  to   the  Working-men   of   Manchester, 

England 300 

His  Letter  to  General  Hooker 303 

Letter  to  Rev.  Alexander  Reed 305 

From  his  Reply  to  the  Presbyterian  Clergymen  .     .  306 

Letter  to  Erastus  Corning  and  Others 307 

From  his  Reply  to  the  Resolutions  of  the  Demo- 

'cratic  State  Convention  of  Ohio 308 

The  Letter  to  James  C.  Conkling 313 

His  Proclamation  for  a  Day  of  Thanksgiving      .     .  321 


vi  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Remarks  at  the  Dedication  of  the  National  Ceme- 
tery at  Gettysburg 323 

From  the  Annual  Message  to  Congress      ....  325 
Closing  Address  of  the  Fair  for  the  Sanitary  Com- 
mission       329 

Letter  to  A.  G.  Hodges  of  Kentucky      .....  330 

His  Address  at  the  Sanitary  Fair  in  Baltimore  .     .  334 

His  Letter  to  General  Grant 338 

His  Answer  to  a  Methodist  Delegation       ....  339 
Reply  to  a  Delegation  from  the  Union  League  after 

his  Renomination .  340 

From  his  Address  at  a  Fair  of  the  Sanitary  Com- 
mission in  Philadelphia 341 

Remarks  to  the  i64th  Ohio  Regiment 343 

His  Letter  to  Mrs.  Eliza  P.  Gurney 344 

To  the  Coloured  Men  of  Baltimore  for  a  Present  of 

the  Bible 346 

His  Reply  to  a  Serenade 347 

His  Reply  to  a  Serenade  when  his  Re-election  was 

Certain 349 

His  Letter  to  Mrs.  Bixby 352 

From  his  Annual  Message  to  Congress  .....  352 

The  Second  Inaugural  Address 358 

From  his  Answer  to  a  Serenade  —  His  last  Public 

Address 361 

INDEX     .    .    -. 367 


INTRODUCTION. 

THE  memory  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  grows  dearer 
to  his  countrymen  with  lapse  of  time.  The  more 
thorough  study  of  his  writings,  and  a  higher  ap- 
preciation of  his  public  services,  may  involve  a 
revision  of  some  opinions  founded  upon  imperfect 
or  unreliable  evidence,  but  they  will  lead  no  one 
to  admire  or  love  him  less.  It  seems  to  be  the 
desire  of  true  Americans  to  know  him  just  as 
he  was. 

No  more  valuable  contribution  to  an  accurate 
knowledge  of  Abraham  Lincoln  could  be  made, 
than  a  proper  selection  from  his  speeches  and 
writings,  in  a  single  volume  of  convenient,  read- 
able form ;  and  no  book  of  that  kind  could  be 
more  difficult  to  make.  His  collected  works,  in- 
cluding his  speeches  in  Congress,  his  political  de- 
bates, aad  his  official  papers,  would  fill  several 
large  volumes.  Upon  what  principle  or  by  what 
rule  shall  they  be  compressed  into  a  duodecimo  of 
three  or  four  hundred  pages,  which  will  hold  the 


2  INTRODUCTION. 

interest  of  the  reader,  and  enable  him  to  form  an 
accurate  estimate  of  their  great  author  and  the 
true  lessons  of  his  life  and  pen? 

The  compilation  which  I  have  made  will  be 
better  understood  by  a  statement  of  some  of  the 
facts  of  his  early  life.  I  shall  give  these  facts  as 
I  understand  them,  without  citing  authorities. 
Doubtless  there  are  those  who  will  controvert 
them,  with  whom  I  shall  here  have  no  dispute. 
As  I  give  them,  they  are  consistent  with  his  char- 
acter, and  the  evidence  is  open  to  those  who  wish 
to  examine  it  further. 

Abraham  Lincoln,  born  in  Kentucky,  was  de- 
scended from  a  New  England  ancestry,  from 
which  he  inherited  an  intense  love  of  liberty, 
thoroughness  of  character,  and  perfect  integrity. 
As  often  happens,  these  qualities  did  not  appear 
in  his  father,  who  was  poor,  improvident,  and 
ignorant.  His  mother  was  an  energetic  Chris- 
tian woman  of  much  refinement,  whose  devotion 
to  her  domestic  and  maternal  duties  soon  wore 
out  her  frail  body,  but  imprinted  her  image  in- 
delibly upon  the  heart  of  her  son.  Many  times 
he  said  that  all  he  was,  he  owed  to  her.  Then  it 
may  be  assumed  that  to  her  he  owed  his  rugged 
honesty,  which  became  a  part  of  his  name,  and 
that  thoroughness  which  led  him  to  commit 


INTRODUCTION.  3 

much  of  the  Bible  to  memory,  and  which  lay 
at  the  foundation  of  his  success.  He  did  with 
his  might  whatever  his  hand  found  to  do.  Born 
to  poverty,  without  paternal  direction,  he  turned 
from  one  avocation  to  another,  until  he  became 
a  lawyer,  entered  public  life,  and  was  elected  to 
Congress.  From  1848,  when  he  declined  a  re- 
election to  Congress,  to  June,  1858,  he  scarcely 
challenged  public  notice.  He  made  a  speech  at 
Peoria  in  1854,  and  a  few  addresses  in  the  Fre- 
mont campaign,  but  during  those  ten  years  he  was 
not  in  public  life,  nor  a  candidate  for  office. 

The  period  of  his  apparent  inaction  was  that  of 
the  metamorphosis  of  slavery.  It  comprised  the 
repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise,  the  Dred 
Scott  decision,  and  the  warfare  in  Kansas  and 
Nebraska.  What  he  was  doing  all  this  time  is 
evident  from  his  subsequent  life. 

From  that  source  we  learn  that  he  must  have 
been  diligently  engaged  in  the  study  of  the  his- 
tory of  American  slavery.  He  saw  in  it  the  great 
question  of  the  time,  upon  which  depended  the 
perpetuity  of  the  Union.  Slavery  had  previously 
been  patient  under  restriction,  —  it  had  consented 
to  the  several  compromises.  Now  it  had  sud- 
denly become  aggressive,  and  not  only  demanded 
the  repeal  of  those  compromises,  but  the  affirma- 


4  INTRODUCTION. 

tion  of  its  right  to  enter  any  Territory  of  the 
United  States.  In  defiance  of  their  constitutions, 
it  even  threatened  to  claim  recognition  in  the 
States  which  were  supposed  to  have  been  appro- 
priated in  perpetuity  to  freedom. 

Mr.  Lincoln  began  his  study  of  slavery  with 
the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution,  the 
commencement  of  its  legislative  history.  The 
thoroughness  of  his  investigations  may  be  seen 
in  his  Cooper  Institute  speech  in  New  York 
(February,  1860),  wherein  he  traced  the  opin- 
ions of  a  majority  of  the  members  of  the  first 
Constitutional  Convention  on  the  subject  of 
slavery.  Step  by  step  he  followed  that  history, 
—  there  was  no  public  man  whose  votes  or 
speeches  escaped  his  search.  Finally  he  reached 
the  conclusion  which  made  him  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  the  destroyer  of  the  institution, 
and  the  emancipator  of  a  race. 

That  conclusion  was,  that  the  free  and  the 
slave  States  had  lived  harmoniously  together  for 
eighty  years,  because  the  framers  of  the  Consti- 
tution, the  statesmen  who  succeeded  them,  and 
the  public  mind  during  all  that  time  had  rested 
in  the  belief  that  slavery  was  in  the  course  of 
ultimate  extinction,  and  would  finally  come  to  a 
peaceful  end.  Therefore  they  had  consented  to 


INTRODUCTION.  5 

the  abolition  of  the  African  slave-trade  and 
other  restrictions  without  objection. 

But  a  great  change  had  taken  place.  The 
advocates  of  slavery  in  the  South,  and  their 
allies  in  the  North,  now  claimed  that  slavery 
should  be  fostered  and  made  a  permanent  institu- 
tion ;  that  property  in  slaves,  like  any  other  prop- 
erty, was  entitled  to  be  taken  into  any  Territory 
of  the  United  States,  and  to  be  protected  there ; 
that  the  Missouri  Compromise  must  be  repealed, 
and  all  other  restrictions  removed.  These  claims 
involved  the  further  claim  that  slave  property 
should  be  protected,  and  consequently  that  slav- 
ery should  be  lawful  in  all  the  free  States  of  the 
Union. 

Mr.  Lincoln  knew  that  the  free  States  would 
never  consent  to  these  changes.  The  differences 
between  them  and  the  teachers  of  the  new  school 
were  radical.  The  free  States  held  that  the 
clause  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence  that 
all  men  were  created  equal,  included  the  negro, 
and  that  to  enslave  him  was  to  commit  a  moral 
and  political  wrong.  The  South  held  that  slav- 
ery was  morally  and  politically  right.  The  sur- 
render of  its  opinions  was  prohibited  by  the 
conscience  of  the  North ;  the  South  would  not 
give  up  its  claim.  The  two  could  not  live 


6  INTRODUCTION. 

together.  The  country  must  become  all  slave 
or  all  free,  or  the  free  and  the  slave  States  must 
separate. 

All  this  was  as  clear  as  the  sunlight  to  the  eye 
of  Abraham  Lincoln  when,  on  the  i6th  of  June, 
1858,  in  the  convention  which  nominated  him  to 
the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  he  discoursed 
from  the  text,  "  If  a  house  be  divided  against 
itself,  that  house  cannot  stand,"  and  declared  his 
belief  that  this  government  could  not  permanently 
endure  half  slave  and  half  free.  It  was  useless 
for  his  friends  to  remonstrate ;  to  assure  him 
that  he  would  be  charged  with  fomenting  a  sec- 
tional war ;  to  entreat  him  to  modify  or  to  with- 
draw that  statement.  He  simply  could  not.  It 
was  the  truth,  plain  and  unclouded ;  he  might, 
with  his  party,  fall  and  perish,  but  he  could  not 
be  disloyal  to  the  truth. 

From  this  time  to  his  nomination  for  the  Presi- 
dency —  covering  a  very  important  period  of  his 
life,  comprising  the  debate  with  Judge  Douglas 
and  many  of  his  most  powerful  speeches  —  al- 
most all  his  public  utterances,  varied,  logical,  and 
powerful  as  they  are,  cluster  about  and  illustrate 
the  foregoing  text  and  its  associations.  It  may 
seem  to  some  unnecessary  to  multiply  extracts 
from  them.  Slavery  is  dead.  It  will  no  more 


INTRODUCTION,  7 

disturb  our  peace.  It  has  none  but  an  historical 
interest  for  the  present  generation.  Why,  then, 
repeat  arguments  which  have  spent  their  force, 
and  demonstrations  which  have  accomplished 
their  purpose  ? 

There  are  still  some  survivors  of  the  past  who, 
with  the  writer,  remember  what  an  inspiration  to 
patriotism  these  arguments  were  when  slavery  was 
making  ready  to  raise  its  hand  against  the  ark  of 
our  covenant.  They  relate  to  one  of  the  eras 
in  the  history  of  our  Republic.  They  cannot  be 
too  well  known  to  the  present  generation  or  its 
posterity.  It  is  better  to  incur  some  charge  of 
repetition  than  to  lose  the  memory  of  their  elo- 
quence and  power. 

The  opinion  has  prevailed  that  the  youth  of 
Abraham  Lincoln  gave  small  promise  of  his  future 
eminence,  —  that  his  intellectual  powers  were 
slow  in  reaching  their  maturity.  Such  an  opin- 
ion needs  revision.  His  address  to  the  people 
of  Sangamon  County,  at  the  age  of  twenty-three, 
and  that  before  the  Lyceum  at  Springfield  three 
years  later,  give  as  full  promise  as  could  be  ex- 
pected at  that  age,  of  the  speech  at  Gettysburg 
and  the  two  inaugural  addresses. 

I  shall  not  attempt  any  criticism  of  the  power 
or  excellence  of  the  following  extracts,  nor  any 


8  INTRODUCTION. 

defence  of  their  selection.  They  have  been 
made  after  a  thorough  study  of  Mr.  Lincoln's 
intellectual  life,  from  its  commencement  to  its 
close.  If  it  shall  occur  to  any  that  omissions 
have  been  made,  —  as,  for  example,  in  the  great 
debate  with  Senator  Douglas,  —  it  should  be  re- 
membered that  this  book  is  not  a  history.  It  is 
a  collection  intended  to  comprise  the  best  expres- 
sions of  a  great  patriot,  perhaps  the  greatest 
patriot-statesman  who  has  honoured  our  Republic 
since  its  birth.  If  by  its  publication  I  shall 
succeed  in  making  him  better  known  to  the 
Republic  he  did  so  much  to  preserve,  and  to  the 
people  in  whose  service  his  life  was  sacrificed,  I 
shall  feel  that  I  have  been  adequately  rewarded. 


ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  PEOPLE  OF  SANGAMON  COUNTY.* 

NEW  SALEM,  March  9,  1832. 
To  THE  PEOPLE  OF  SANGAMON  COUNTY; 

FELLOW-CITIZENS,  —  Having  become  a  candi- 
date for  the  honourable  office  of  one  of  your 
Representatives  in  the  next  General  Assembly  of 
this  State,  in  accordance  with  an  established  cus- 
tom and  the  principles  of  true  republicanism,  it 
becomes  my  duty  to  make  known  to  you,  the 
people  whom  I  propose  to  represent,  my  senti- 
ments with  regard  to  local  affairs. 

1  Interest  is  attached  to  this  Address  from  the  fact 
that  it  is  the  earliest-known  product  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  pen. 
It  was  issued  when,  at  the  age  of  twenty-three,  he  was  first 
a  candidate  for  the  office  of  Representative  to  the  Legisla- 
ture of  Illinois.  It  is  therefore  given  without  abbreviation. 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  defeated.  He  was  running  on  the  oppo- 
sition ticket  to  General  Jackson,  the  popular  Presidential 
candidate  in  Illinois. 


10  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Time  and  experience  have  verified  to  a  demon- 
stration the  public  utility  of  internal  improve- 
ments. That  the  poorest  and  most  thinly 
populated  countries  would  be  greatly  benefited 
by  the  opening  of  good  roads  and  in  the  clearing 
of  navigable  streams  within  their  limits,  is  what 
no  person  will  deny.  Yet  it  is  folly  to  undertake 
works  of  this  or  any  other  kind,  without  first 
knowing  that  we  are  able  to  finish  them,  —  as 
half-finished  work  generally  proves  to  be  labour 
lost. 

There  cannot  justly  be  any  objection  to  having 
railroads  and  canals,  any  more  than  to  other  good 
things,  provided  they  cost  nothing.  The  only 
objection  is  to  paying  for  them ;  and  the  objec- 
tion arises  from  the  want  of  ability  to  pay. 

With  respect  to  the  County  of  Sangamon,  some 
more  easy  means  of  communication  than  it  now 
possesses,  for  the  purpose  of  facilitating  the  task 
of  exporting  the  surplus  products  of  its  fer- 
tile soil,  and  importing  necessary  articles  from 
abroad,  are  indispensably  necessary.  A  meeting 
has  been  held  of  the  citizens  of  Jacksonville  and 
the  adjacent  country  for  the  purpose  of  deliber- 
ating and  inquiring  into  the  expediency  of  con- 
structing a  railroad  from  some  eligible  point  on 
the  Illinois  River  through  the  town  of  Jacksonville, 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  M 

in  Morgan  County,  to  the  town  of  Springfield, 
in  Sangamon  County.  This  is,  indeed,  a  very 
desirable  object.  No  other  improvement  that  rea- 
son will  justify  us  in  hoping  for  can  equal  in  utility 
the  railroad.  It  is  a  never- failing  source  of  com- 
munication between  places  of  business  remotely 
situated  from  each  other.  Upon  the  railroad 
the  regular  progress  of  commercial  intercourse  is 
not  interrupted  by  either  high  or  low  water,  or 
freezing  weather,  which  are  the  principal  diffi- 
culties that  render  our  future  hopes  of  water 
communication  precarious  and  uncertain. 

Yet,  however  desirable  an  object  the  construc- 
tion of  a  railroad  through  our  country  may  be ; 
however  high  our  imaginations  may  be  heated  at 
thoughts  of  it ;  there  is  always  a  heart-appalling 
shock  accompanying  the  account  of  its  cost  which 
forces  us  to  shrink  from  our  pleasing  anticipa- 
tions. The  probable  cost  of  this  contemplated 
railroad  is  estimated  at  $290,000 ;  the  bare  state- 
ment of  which,  in  my  opinion,  is  sufficient  to 
justify  the  belief  that  the  improvement  of  the 
Sangamon  River  is  an  object  much  better  suited 
to  our  infant  resources. 

Respecting  this  view,  I  think  I  may  say,  without 
the  fear  of  being  contradicted,  that  its  navigation 
may  be  rendered  completely  practicable  as  high 


12  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

as  the  mouth  of  the  South  Fork,  or  probably 
higher,  to  vessels  of  from  twenty- five  to  thirty 
tons'  burden,  for  at  least  one  half  of  all  common 
years,  and  to  vessels  of  much  greater  burden  a 
part  of  the  time.  From  my  peculiar  circum- 
stances, it  is  probable  that  for  the  last  twelve 
months  I  have  given  as  particular  attention  to 
the  stage  of  the  water  in  this  river  as  any  other 
person  in  the  country.  In  the  month  of  March, 
1831,  in  company  with  others,  I  commenced  the 
building  of  a  flat-boat  on  the  Sangamon,  and  fin- 
ished and  took  her  out  in  the  course  of  the 
spring.  Since  that  time  I  have  been  concerned 
in  the  mill  at  New  Salem.  These  circumstances 
are  sufficient  evidence  that  I  have  not  been  very 
inattentive  to  the  stages  of  the  water.  The  time 
at  which  we  crossed  the  mill-dam  being  in  the 
last  days  of  April,  the  water  was  lower  than  it 
had  been  since  the  breaking  of  winter  in  Feb- 
ruary, or  than  it  was  for  several  weeks  after. 
The  principal  difficulties  we  encountered  in  de- 
scending the  river  were  from  the  drifted  limber, 
which  obstructions  all  know  are  not  difficult  to  be 
removed.  Knowing  almost  precisely  the  height 
of  water  at  that  time,  I  believe  I  am  safe  in  say- 
ing that  it  has  as  often  been  higher  as  lower 
since. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  13 

From  this  view  of  the  subject,  it  appears  that 
my  calculations  with  regard  to  the  navigation  of 
the  Sangamon  cannot  but  be  founded  in  reason  ; 
but  whatever  may  be  its  natural  advantages,  cer- 
tain it  is  that  it  never  can  be  practically  useful 
to  any  great  extent  without  being  greatly  im- 
proved by  art.  The  drifted  timber,  as  I  have 
before  mentioned,  is  the  most  formidable  barrier 
to  this  object.  Of  all  parts  of  the  river,  none 
will  require  so  much  labour  in  proportion  to  make 
it  navigable  as  the  last  thirty  or  thirty-five  miles ; 
and  going  with  the  meanderings  of  the  channel, 
when  we  are  this  distance  above  its  mouth,  we 
are  only  between  twelve  and  eighteen  miles  above 
Beardstown,  in  something  near  a  straight  direc- 
tion, and  this  route  is  upon  such  low  ground  as 
to  retain  water  in  many  places  during  the  season, 
and  in  all  parts  such  as  to  draw  two -thirds  or 
three-fourths  of  the  river-water  at  all  high  stages. 

This  route  is  on  prairie-land  the  whole  dis- 
tance, so  that  it  appears  to  me,  by  removing  the 
turf  a  sufficient  width  and  damming  up  the  old 
channel,  the  whole  river  in  a  short  time  would 
wash  its  way  through,  thereby  curtailing  the  dis- 
tance and  increasing  the  velocity  of  the  current 
very  considerably,  while  there  would  be  no  tim- 
ber on  the  banks  to  obstruct  its  navigation  in 


I4  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

future ;  and,  being  nearly  straight,  the  timber  which 
might  float  in  at  the  head  would  be  apt  to  go 
clear  through.  There  are  also  many  places  above 
this  where  the  river,  in  its  zigzag  course,  forms 
such  complete  peninsulas  as  to  be  easier  to  cut 
at  the  necks  than  to  remove  the  obstructions  from 
the  bends,  which,  if  done,  would  also  lessen  the 
distance. 

What  the  cost  of  this  work  would  be  I  am  un- 
able to  say.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  it  would 
not  be  greater  than  is  common  to  streams  of  the 
same  length.  Finally,  I  believe  the  improvement 
of  the  Sangamon  River  to  be  vastly  important 
and  highly  desirable  to  the  people  of  the  county, 
and,  if  elected,  any  measure  in  the  Legislature 
having  this  for  its  object  which  may  appear  judi- 
cious, will  meet  my  approbation  and  shall  receive 
my  support. 

It  appears  that  the  practice  of  drawing  [qu. 
loaning?]  money  at  exorbitant  rates  of  interest 
has  already  been  opened  as  a  field  for  discussion, 
so  I  suppose  I  may  enter  upon  it  without  claim- 
ing the  honour,  or  risking  the  danger,  which  may 
await  its  first  explorer.  It  seems  as  though  we 
were  never  to  have  an  end  to  this  baneful  and 
corroding  system,  acting  almost  as  prejudicially 
to  the  general  interests  of  the  community  as  a 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  ^ 

direct  tax  of  several  thousand  dollars  annually 
laid  on  each  county  for  the  benefit  of  a  few  indi- 
viduals only,  unless  there  be  a  law  made  fixing 
the  limits  of  usury.  A  law  for  this  purpose,  I  am 
of  opinion,  may  be  made  without  materially  in- 
juring any  class  of  people.  In  cases  of  extreme 
necessity  there  could  always  be  means  found  to 
cheat  the  law,  while  in  all  other  cases  it  would 
have  its  intended  effect.  I  would  favour  the  pas- 
sage of  a  law  on  this  subject  which  might  not  be 
very  easily  evaded.  Let  it  be  such  that  the  labour 
and  difficulty  of  evading  it  could  only  be  justified 
in  cases  of  greatest  necessity. 

Upon  the  subject  of  education,  not  presuming 
to  dictate  any  plan  or  system  respecting  it,  I  can 
only  say  that  I  view  it  as  the  most  important  sub- 
ject which  we,  as  a  people,  can  be  engaged  in. 
That  every  man  may  receive  at  least  a  moderate 
education,  and  thereby  be  enabled  to  read  the 
histories  of  his  own  and  other  countries,  by  which 
he  may  duly  appreciate  the  value  of  our  free 
institutions,  appears  to  be  an  object  of  vital  im- 
portance, even  on  this  account  alone,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  advantages  and  satisfaction  to  be 
derived  from  all  being  able  to  read  the  Scriptures 
and  other  works,  both  of  a  religious  and  moral 
nature,  for  themselves. 


1 6  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

For  my  part,  I  desire  to  see  the  time  when 
education  —  and  by  its  means  morality,  sobriety, 
enterprise,  and  industry  —  shall  become  much 
more  general  than  at  present;  and  should  be 
gratified  to  have  it  in  my  power  to  contribute 
something  to  the  advancement  of  any  measure 
which  might  have  a  tendency  to  accelerate  that 
happy  period. 

With  regard  to  existing  laws,  some  alterations 
are  thought  to  be  necessary.  Many  respectable 
men  have  suggested  that  our  estray  laws  —  the 
law  respecting  the  issuing  of  executions,  the  road 
law,  and  some  others  —  are  deficient  in  their 
present  form,  and  require  alterations.  But  con- 
sidering the  great  probability  that  the  framers  of 
those  laws  were  wiser  than  myself,  I  should  pre- 
fer not  meddling  with  them,  unless  they  were 
first  attacked  by  others,  in  which  case  I  should 
feel  it  both  a  privilege  and  a  duty  to  take  that 
stand  which,  in  my  view,  might  tend  to  the 
advancement  of  justice. 

But,  fellow-citizens,  I  shall  conclude.  Con- 
sidering the  great  degree  of  modesty  which  should 
always  attend  youth,  it  is  probable  I  have  already 
been  more  presuming  than  becomes  me.  How- 
ever, upon  the  subjects  of  which  I  have  treated,  I 
have  spoken  as  I  have  thought.  I  may  be  wrong 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  ij 

in  regard  to  any  or  all  of  them ;  but,  holding  it 
a  sound  maxim  that  it  is  better  only  to  be  some- 
times right  than  at  all  times  wrong,  so  soon  as  I 
discover  my  opinions  to  be  erroneous  I  shall  be 
ready  to  renounce  them. 

Every  man  is  said  to  have  his  peculiar  ambi- 
tion. Whether  it  be  true  or  not,  I  can  say,  for 
one,  that  I  have  no  other  so  great  as  that  of 
being  truly  esteemed  of  my  fellow-men  by  ren- 
dering myself  worthy  of  their  esteem.  How  far 
I  shall  succeed  in  gratifying  this  ambition  is  yet 
to  be  developed.  I  am  young  and  unknown  to 
many  of  you ;  I  was  born  and  have  ever  re- 
mained in  the  most  humble  walks  of  life.  I  have 
no  wealthy  or  popular  relations  or  friends  to  recom- 
mend me.  My  case  is  thrown  exclusively  upon 
the  independent  voters  of  the  county,  and  if 
elected,  they  will  have  conferred  a  favour  upon  me 
for  which  I  shall  be  unremitting  in  my  labours  to 
compensate.  But  if  the  good  people  in  their 
wisdom  shall  see  fit  to  keep  me  in  the  back- 
ground, I  have  been  too  familiar  with  disappoint- 
ments to  be  very  much  chagrined. 

Your  friend  and  fellow-citizen, 

A.  LINCOLN. 


!8  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

FROM  HIS  ADDRESS  BEFORE  THE  YOUNG  MEN'S 
LYCEUM  OF  SPRINGFIELD,  ILLINOIS,  ON  THE  PER- 
PETUATION OF  OUR  POLITICAL  INSTITUTIONS.1 

January,  1837. 

"...  In  the  great  journal  of  things  happen- 
ing under  the  sun,  we,  the  American  people,  find 
our  account  running  under  the  date  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  of  the  Christian  era.  We  find 
ourselves  in  the  peaceful  possession  of  the  fairest 
portion  of  the  earth,  as  regards  extent  of  terri- 
tory, fertility  of  soil,  and  salubrity  of  climate. 
We  find  ourselves  under  the  government  of  a 
system  of  political  institutions  conducing  more 
essentially  to  the  ends  of  civil  and  religious  lib- 
erty, than  any  of  which  the  history  of  former 
times  tells  us.  We,  when  remounting  the  stage 
of  existence,  found  ourselves  the  legal  inheritors 
of  these  fundamental  blessings.  We  toiled  not 
in  the  acquirement  or  the  establishment  of  them ; 
they  are  a  legacy  bequeathed  to  us  by  a  once 
hardy,  brave,  and  patriotic,  but  now  lamented 
and  departed  race  of  ancestors. 

"Theirs  was  the  task  (and  nobly  they  performed 
it)  to  possess  themselves,  and  through  themselves 

1  Published  in  the  Springfield  "  Weekly  Journal."  See 
Arnold's  "  Life  of  Lincoln,"  p.  61. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  19 

us,  of  this  goodly  land,  and  to  rear  upon  its  hills 
and  valleys  a  political  edifice  of  liberty  and  equal 
rights ;  't  is  ours  only  to  transmit  these,  —  the 
former  unprofaned  by  the  foot  of  the  invader; 
the  latter  undecayed  by  lapse  of  time.  This, 
our  duty  to  ourselves  and  to  our  posterity,  and 
love  for  our  species  in  general,  imperatively  re- 
quire us  to  perform. 

"How,  then,  shall  we  perform  it?  At  what 
point  shall  we  expect  the  approach  of  danger? 
By  what  means  shall  we  fortify  against  it  ?  Shall 
we  expect  some  transatlantic  military  giant  to  step 
across  the  ocean  and  crush  us  at  a  blow?  Never. 
All  the  armies  of  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa  com- 
bined, with  all  the  treasure  of  the  earth  (our  own 
excepted)  in  their  military  chest,  with  a  Bona- 
parte for  a  commander,  could  not,  by  force,  take 
a  drink  from  the  Ohio,  or  make  a  track  on  the 
Blue  Ridge,  in  a  trial  of  a  thousand  years. 

"  At  what  point,  then,  is  the  approach  of  danger 
to  be  expected  ?  I  answer,  if  it  ever  reaches  us, 
it  must  spring  up  among  us.  It  cannot  come 
from  abroad.  If  destruction  be  our  lot,  we  must 
ourselves  be  its  author  and  finisher.  As  a  nation 
of  freemen,  we  must  live  through  all  time,  or  die 
by  suicide. 

"...  There  is  even  now   something  of  ill 


20  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

omen  among  us.  I  mean  the  increasing  disre- 
gard for  law  which  pervades  the  country ;  the 
growing  disposition  to  substitute  wild  and  furious 
passions  in  lieu  of  the  sober  judgment  of  courts ; 
and  the  worse  than  savage  mobs  for  the  execu- 
tive ministers  of  justice.  This  disposition  is 
awfully  fearful  in  any  community ;  and  that  it 
now  exists  in  ours,  though  grating  to  our  feelings 
to  admit,  it  would  be  a  violation  of  truth  and  an 
insult  to  our  intelligence  to  deny. 

"  I  know  the  American  people  are  much  at- 
tached to  their  government.  I  know  they  would 
suffer  much  for  its  sake.  I  know  they  would  en- 
dure evils  long  and  patiently  before  they  would 
ever  think  of  exchanging  it  for  another.  Yet, 
notwithstanding  all  this,  if  the  laws  be  continually 
despised  and  disregarded,  if  their  rights  to  be 
secure  in  their  persons  and  property  are  held  by 
no  better  tenure  than  the  caprice  of  a  mob,  the 
alienation  of  their  affection  for  the  government  is 
the  natural  consequence,  and  to  that  sooner  or 
later  it  must  come. 

"Here,  then,  is  one  point  at  which  danger  may 
be  expected.  The  question  recurs,  how  shall  we 
fortify  against  it?  The  answer  is  simple.  Let 
every  American,  every  lover  of  liberty,  every 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  2I 

well-wisher  to  his  posterity,  swear  by  the  blood  of 
the  Revolution  never  to  violate  in  the  least  partic- 
ular the  laws  of  the  country,  and  never  to  tolerate 
their  violation  by  others.  As  the  patriots  of  sev- 
enty-six did  to  the  support  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  so  to  the  support  of  the  Constitu- 
tion and  the  Laws  let  every  American  pledge 
his  life,  his  property,  and  his  sacred  honour ; 
let  every  man  remember  that  to  violate  the  law 
is  to  trample  on  the  blood  of  his  father,  and  to 
tear  the  charter  of  his  own  and  his  children's 
liberty.  Let  reverence  for  the  laws  be  breathed 
by  every  American  mother  to  the  lisping  babe 
that  prattles  on  her  lap.  Let  it  be  taught  in 
schools,  in  seminaries,  and  in  colleges.  Let  it 
be  written  in  primers,  spelling-books,  and  in 
almanacs.  Let  it  be  preached  from  the  pulpit, 
proclaimed  in  legislative  halls,  and  enforced  in 
courts  of  justice.  And,  in  short,  let  it  become 
the  political  religion  of  the  nation. 


"  Many  great  and  good  men,  sufficiently  quali- 
fied for  any  task  they  should  undertake,  may  ever 
be  found,  whose  ambition  would  aspire  to  nothing 
beyond  a  seat  in  Congress,  a  gubernatorial  or  a 
presidential  chair.  But  such  belong  not  to  the 


22  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

family  of  the  lion  or  the  brood  of  the  eagle. 
What  ?  Think  you  these  places  would  satisfy  an 
Alexander,  a  Caesar,  or  a  Napoleon  ?  Never  ! 
Towering  genius  disdains  a  beaten  path.  It  seeks 
regions  hitherto  unexplored.  It  sees  no  distinc- 
tion in  adding  story  to  story  upon  the  monu- 
ments of  fame  erected  to  the  memory  of  others. 
It  denies  that  it  is  glory  enough  to  serve  under 
any  chief.  It  scorns  to  tread  in  the  footsteps  of 
any  predecessor,  however  illustrious.  It  thirsts 
and  burns  for  distinction ;  and,  if  possible,  it  will 
have  it,  whether  at  the  expense  of  emancipating 
slaves,  or  enslaving  free  men.  Is  it  unreasonable, 
then,  to  expect  that  some  men,  possessed  of  the 
loftiest  genius,  coupled  with  ambition  sufficient 
to  push  it  to  its  utmost  stretch,  will  at  some  time 
spring  up  among  us?  And  when  such  a  one 
does,  it  will  require  the  people  to  be  united  with 
each  other,  attached  to  the  government  and  laws, 
and  generally  intelligent,  to  successfully  frustrate 
his  design. 

"  Distinction  will  be  his  paramount  object,  and 
although  he  would  as  willingly,  perhaps  more  so, 
acquire  it  by  doing  good  as  harm,  yet  that  oppor- 
tunity being  passed,  and  nothing  left  to  be  done 
in  the  way  of  building  up,  he  would  sit  down 
boldly  to  the  task  of  pulling  down.  Here,  then, 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  23 

is  a  probable  case,  highly  dangerous,  and  such  a 
one  as  could  not  well  have  existed  heretofore. 

"All  honour  to  our  Revolutionary  ancestors, 
to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  these  institutions. 
They  will  not  be  forgotten.  In  history  we  hope 
they  will  be  read  of,  and  recounted,  so  long  as 
the  Bible  shall  be  read.  But  even  granting  that 
they  will,  their  influence  cannot  be  what  it  here- 
tofore has  been.  Even  then,  they  cannot  be  so 
universally  known,  nor  so  vividly  felt,  as  they  were 
by  the  generation  just  gone  to  rest.  At  the  close 
of  that  struggle,  nearly  every  adult  male  had  been 
a  participator  in  some  of  its  scenes.  The  conse- 
quence was,  that  of  those  scenes,  in  the  form  of  a 
husband,  a  father,  a  son,  or  a  brother,  a  living 
history  was  to  be  found  in  every  family,  —  a  his- 
tory bearing  the  indubitable  testimonies  to  its 
own  authenticity  in  the  limbs  mangled,  in  the 
scars  of  wounds  received  in  the  midst  of  the 
very  scenes  related ;  a  history,  too,  that  could  be 
read  and  understood  alike  by  all,  the  wise  and 
the  ignorant,  the  learned  and  the  unlearned. 
But  those  histories  are  gone.  They  can  be  read 
no  more  for  ever.  They  were  a  fortress  of 
strength ;  but  what  the  invading  foemen  could 
never  do,  the  silent  artillery  of  time  has  done, — 


24  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

the  levelling  of  its  walls.  They  are  gone.  They 
were  a  forest  of  giant  oaks;  but  the  resistless 
hurricane  has  swept  over  them,  and  left  only 
here  and  there  a  lonely  trunk,  despoiled  of  its 
verdure,  shorn  of  its  foliage,  unshading  and  un- 
shaded, to  murmur  in  a  few  more  gentle  breezes, 
and  to  combat  with  its  mutilated  limbs  a  few 
more  ruder  storms,  and  then  to  sink  and  be  no 
more. " 


MR.  LINCOLN'S  EARLIEST  ANNOUNCEMENT  OF  HIS 
POLITICAL  OPINIONS. 

June,  1836,  and  March,  1837. 
IN  his  letter  published  in  the  Sangamon  "  Jour- 
nal," in  June,  1836,  he  said:  "I  go  for  all 
sharing  the  privileges  of  the  government  who 
assist  in  bearing  its  burdens :  consequently  I 
go  for  admitting  all  whites  to  the  right  of  suffrage 
who  pay  taxes  or  bear  arms  [by  no  means  ex- 
cluding females.]  " 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


FROM  HIS  PROTEST  IN  THE  JOURNAL  OF  THE  LEGIS- 
LATURE OF  ILLINOIS,  SIGNED  BY  MR.  LINCOLN 
AND  DAN  STONE. 

March,  1837. 

"  THE  undersigned  believe  that  the  institution 
of  slavery  is  founded  on  both  injustice  and  bad 
policy,  but  that  the  promulgation  of  abolition 
doctrine  tends  rather  to  increase  than  to  abate 
its  evils. 

"  They  believe  that  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  has  no  power  under  the  Constitution  to 
interfere  with  the  institution  of  slavery  in  the 
different  States. 

"  They  believe  that  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  has  the  power,  under  the  Constitution,  to 
abolish  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  but 
that  that  power  ought  not  to  be  exercised  unless 
at  the  request  of  the  people  of  said  district." 


26  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


EXTRACTS  FROM  A  POLITICAL  DEBATE  BETWEEN 
MR.  LINCOLN,  E.  D.  BAKER,  AND  OTHERS, 
AGAINST  STEPHEN  A.  DOUGLAS,  JOSIAH  LAM- 
BORN,  AND  OTHERS,  HELD  IN  THE  SECOND 

PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH  IN    SPRINGFIELD,    IL- 
LINOIS. 

December,  1839. 

IN  concluding  his  speech,  Mr.  Lincoln  said : 
"  Mr.  Lamborn  insists  that  the  difference  between 
the  Van  Buren  party  and  the  Whigs  is,  that  al- 
though the  former  sometimes  err  in  practice, 
they  are  always  correct  in  principle,  whereas  the 
latter  are  wrong  in  principle ;  and  the  better  to 
impress  this  proposition,  he  uses  a  figurative 
expression  in  these  words :  '  The  Democrats  are 
vulnerable  in  the  heel,  but  they  are  sound  in  the 
heart  and  in  the  head.'  The  first  branch  of  the 
figure  —  that  is,  that  the  Democrats  are  vulner- 
able in  the  heel  —  I  admit  is  not  merely  figura- 
tively but  literally  true.  Who  that  looks  but  for 
a  moment  at  their  Swartwouts,  their  Prices,  their 
Harringtons,  and  their  hundreds  of  others,  scam- 
pering away  with  the  public  money  to  Texas,  to 
Europe,  and  to  every  spot  of  the  earth  where  a 
villain  may  hope  to  find  refuge  from  justice,  can 
at  all  doubt  that  they  are  most  distressingly 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  2J 

affected  in  their  heels  with  a  species  of  running 
fever?  It  seems  that  this  malady  of  their  heels 
operates  on  the  sound-headed  and  honest-hearted 
creatures  very  much  like  the  cork  leg  in  the  song 
did  on  its  owner,  which,  when  he  had  once  got 
started  on  it,  the  more  he  tried  to  stop  it,  the 
more  it  would  run  away.  At  the  hazard  of  wear- 
ing this  point  threadbare,  I  will  relate  an  anec- 
dote which  seems  to  be  too  strikingly  in  point  to 
be  omitted.  A  witty  Irish  soldier  who  was  always 
boasting  of  his  bravery  when  no  danger  was  near, 
but  who  invariably  retreated  without  orders  at  the 
first  charge  of  the  engagement,  being  asked  by 
his  captain  why  he  did  so,  replied,  '  Captain,  I 
have  as  brave  a  heart  as  Julius  Caesar  ever  had ; 
but  somehow  or  other,  whenever  danger  ap- 
proaches, my  cowardly  legs  will  run  away  with 
it.'  So  it  is  with  Mr.  Lamborn's  party.  They 
take  the  public  money  into  their  hands  for  the 
most  laudable  purpose  that  wise  heads  and  honest 
hearts  can  dictate,  but  before  they  can  possibly 
get  it  out  again,  their  rascally  vulnerable  heels 
will  run  away  with  them.  .  .  . 

"  Mr.  Lamborn  refers  to  the  late  elections  in 
the  States,  and,  from  their  results,  confidently 
predicts  every  State  in  the  Union  will  vote  for 
Mr.  Van  Buren  at  the  next  presidential  election. 


28  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Address  that  argument  to  cowards  and  knaves ! 
With  the  free  and  the  brave  it  will  effect  nothing. 
It  may  be  true :  if  it  must,  let  it.  Many  free 
countries  have  lost  their  liberties,  and  ours  may 
lose  hers;  but  if  she  shall,  be  it  my  proudest 
plume,  not  that  I  was  the  last  to  desert,  but  that 
I  never  deserted  her.  I  know  that  the  great 
volcano  at  Washington,  aroused  and  directed  by 
the  evil  spirit  that  reigns  there,  is  belching  forth 
the  lava  of  political  corruption  in  a  current  broad 
and  deep,  which  is  sweeping  with  frightful  velocity 
over  the  whole  length  and  breadth  of  the  land, 
bidding  fair  to  leave  unscathed  no  green  spot  or 
living  thing,  while  on  its  bosom  are  riding,  like 
demons  on  the  wave  of  hell,  the  imps  of  that  evil 
spirit,  and  fiendishly  taunting  all  those  who  dare 
to  resist  its  destroying  course  with  the  hopeless- 
ness of  their  efforts ;  and,  knowing  this,  I  cannot 
deny  that  all  may  be  swept  away.  Broken  by  it, 
I  too  may  be ;  bow  to  it,  I  never  will.  The 
probability  that  we  may  fall  in  the  struggle  ought 
not  to  deter  us  from  the  support  of  a  cause  we 
believe  to  be  just.  It  shall  not  deter  me.  If 
ever  I  feel  the  soul  within  me  elevate  and  expand 
to  those  dimensions  not  wholly  unworthy  of  its 
Almighty  Architect,  it  is  when  I  contemplate  the 
cause  of  my  country  deserted  by  all  the  world 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  29 

beside,  and  I  standing  up,  boldly,  alone,  hurling 
defiance  at  her  victorious  oppressors.  Here,  with- 
out contemplating  consequences,  before  Heaven 
and  in  the  face  of  the  world,  I  swear  eternal 
fealty  to  the  just  cause,  as  I  deem  it,  of  the  land 
of  my  life,  my  liberty,  and  my  love.  And  who 
that  thinks  with  me  will  not  fearlessly  adopt  the 
oath  that  I  take  ?  Let  none  falter  who  thinks  he 
is  right,  and  we  may  succeed.  But  if,  after  all, 
we  shall  fail,  be  it  so;  we  still  shall  have  the 
proud  consolation  of  saying  to  our  consciences 
and  to  the  departed  shade  of  our  country's  free- 
dom, that  the  cause  approved  of  our  judgment 
and  adored  of  our  hearts,  in  disaster,  in  chains,  in 
torture,  in  death,  we  never  faltered  in  defending." 


EXTRACTS  FROM  HIS  ADDRESS  BEFORE  THE  SPRING- 
FIELD WASHINGTONIAN  TEMPERANCE  SOCIETY. 

February  22,  1842. 

"ALTHOUGH  the  temperance  cause  has  been 
in  progress  for  nearly  twenty  years,  it  is  apparent 
to  all  that  it  is  just  now  being  crowned  with  a 
degree  of  success  hitherto  unparalleled. 

"  The  list  of  its  friends  is  daily  swelled  by  the 
additions  of  fifties,  of  hundreds,  and  of  thousands. 
The  cause  itself  seems  suddenly  transformed  from 


30  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

a  cold  abstract  theory  to  a  living,  breathing,  active 
and  powerful  chieftain,  going  forth  conquering 
and  to  conquer.  The  citadels  of  his  great  ad- 
versary are  daily  being  stormed  and  dismantled ; 
his  temples  and  his  altars,  where  the  rites  of  his 
idolatrous  worship  have  long  been  performed, 
and  where  human  sacrifices  have  long  been  wont 
to  be  made,  are  daily  desecrated  and  deserted. 
The  trump  of  the  conqueror's  fame  is  sounding 
from  hill  to  hill,  from  sea  to  sea,  and  from  land 
to  land,  and  calling  millions  to  his  standard  at  a 
blast. 

" '  But,'  say  some,  '  we  are  no  drunkards,  and 
we  shall  not  acknowledge  ourselves  such  by  join- 
ing a  reform  drunkard's  society,  whatever  our 
influence  might  be.'  Surely  no  Christian  will 
adhere  to  this  objection. 

"  If  they  believe,  as  they  profess,  that  Omnipo- 
tence condescended  to  take  on  himself  the  form 
of  sinful  man,  and,  as  such,  to  die  an  ignominious 
death  for  their  sakes,  surely  they  will  not  refuse 
submission  to  the  infinitely  lesser  condescension 
for  the  temporal  and  perhaps  eternal  salvation 
of  a  large,  erring,  and  unfortunate  class  of  their 
fellow-creatures ;  nor  is  the  condescension  very 
great.  In  my  judgment,  such  of  us  as  have 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  3I 

never  fallen  victims  have  been  spared  more  from 
the  absence  of  appetite,  than  from  any  mental  or 
moral  superiority  over  those  who  have.  Indeed, 
I  believe  if  we  take  habitual  drunkards  as  a  class, 
their  heads  and  their  hearts  will  bear  an  advan- 
tageous comparison  with  those  of  any  other  class. 
There  seems  ever  to  have  been  a  proneness  in  the 
brilliant  and  warm-blooded  to  fall  into  this  vice. 
The  demon  of  intemperance  ever  seems  to  have 
delighted  in  sucking  the  blood  of  genius  and 
generosity.  What  one  of  us  but  can  call  to 
mind  some  relative  more  promising  in  youth  than 
all  his  fellows,  who  has  fallen  a  sacrifice  to  his 
rapacity?  He  ever  seems  to  have  gone  forth 
like  the  Egyptian  angel  of  death,  commissioned 
to  slay,  if  not  the  first,  the  fairest  born  of  every 
family.  Shall  he  now  be  arrested  in  his  deso- 
lating career?  In  that  arrest  all  can  give  aid 
that  will ;  and  who  shall  be  excused  that  can  and 
will  not?  Far  around  as  human  breath  has  ever 
blown,  he  keeps  our  fathers,  our  brothers,  our 
sons,  and  our  friends  prostrate  in  the  chains  of 
moral  death.  To  all  the  living  everywhere  we 
cry,  'Come,  sound  the  moral  trump,  that  these 
may  rise  and  stand  up  an  exceeding  great  army  ! ' 
'  Come  from  the  four  winds,  O  breath,  and 
breathe  upon  these  slain,  that  they  may  live  ! ' 


32  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

If  the  relative  grandeur  of  revolutions  shall  be 
estimated  by  the  great  amount  of  human  misery 
they  alleviate,  and  the  small  amount  they  inflict, 
then,  indeed,  will  this  be  the  grandest  the  world 
shall  ever  have  seen. 

"  Of  our  political  revolution  of  '76,  we  are  all 
justly  proud.  It  has  given  us  a  degree  of  political 
freedom  far  exceeding  that  of  any  other  nations 
of  the  earth.  In  it  the  world  has  found  a  solu- 
tion of  the  long-mooted  problem  as  to  the  capa- 
bility of  man  to  govern  himself.  In  it  was  the 
germ  which  has  vegetated,  and  still  is  to  grow 
and  expand  into  the  universal  liberty  of  mankind. 

"  But  with  all  these  glorious  results,  past, 
present,  and  to  come,  it  had  its  evils  too.  It 
breathed  forth  famine,  swam  in  blood,  and  rode 
in  fire ;  and  long,  long  after,  the  orphans'  cry  and 
the  widows'  wail  continued  to  break  the  sad  silence 
that  ensued.  These  were  the  price,  the  inevit- 
able price,  paid  for  the  blessings  it  bought. 

"  Turn  now  to  the  temperance  revolution.  In 
it  we  shall  find  a  stronger  bondage  broken,  a 
viler  slavery  manumitted,  and  a  greater  tyrant  de- 
posed ;  in  it,  more  of  want  supplied,  more  disease 
healed,  more  sorrow  assuaged.  By  it  no  orphans 
starving,  no  widows  weeping.  By  it  none  wounded 
in  feeling,  none  injured  in  interest ;  even  the 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


33 


dram-maker  and  dram-seller  will  have  glided 
into  other  occupations  so  gradually  as  never  to 
have  felt  the  change,  and  will  stand  ready  to  join 
all  others  in  the  universal  song  of  gladness.  And 
what  a  noble  ally  this  to  the  cause  of  political 
freedom  !  with  such  an  aid  its  march  cannot  fail 
to  be  on  and  on,  till  every  son  of  earth  shall  drink 
in  rich  fruition  the  sorrow-quenching  draughts  of 
perfect  liberty.  Happy  day  when,  all  appetites 
controlled,  all  poisons  subdued,  all  matter  sub- 
jected, mind,  all-conquering  mind,  shall  live  and 
move,  the  monarch  of  the  world  !  Glorious  con- 
summation !  Hail,  fall  of  fury  !  Reign  of  reason, 
all  hail ! 

"  And  when  the  victory  shall  be  complete,  — 
when  there  shall  be  neither  a  slave  nor  a  drunk- 
ard on  the  earth,  —  how  proud  the  title  of  that 
Land  which  may  truly  claim  to  be  the  birth- 
place and  the  cradle  of  both  those  revolutions 
that  shall  have  ended  in  that  victory  !  How  nobly 
distinguished  that  people  who  shall  have  planted 
and  nurtured  to  maturity  both  the  political  and 
moral  freedom  of  their  species  ! 

"  This  is  the  one  hundred  and  tenth  anniversary 
of  the  birthday  of  Washington.  We  are  met  to 
celebrate  this  day.  Washington  is  the  mightiest 
name  of  earth,  —  long  since  mightiest  in  the  cause 

3 


34 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


of  civil  liberty,  still  mightiest  in  moral  reformation. 
On  that  name  no  eulogy  is  expected.  It  cannot 
be.  To  add  brightness  to  the  sun,  or  glory  to 
the  name  of  Washington,  is  alike  impossible. 
Let  none  attempt  it.  In  solemn  awe  pronounce 
the  name,  and  in  its  naked,  deathless  splendour 
leave  it  shining  on." 


FROM  THE  CIRCULAR  OF  THE  WHIG  COMMITTEE.1 

March  4,  1843. 

"...  As  an  individual  who  undertakes  to 
live  by  borrowing  soon  finds  his  original  means 
devoured  by  interest,  and  next,  no  one  left  to 
borrow  from,  so  must  it  be  with  a  government. 

"  We  repeat,  then,  that  a  tariff  sufficient  for 
revenue,  or  a  direct  tax,  must  soon  be  resorted 
to;  and,  indeed,  we  believe  this  alternative  is 
now  denied  by  no  one.  But  which  system  shall 
be  adopted?  Some  of  our  opponents  in  theory 
admit  the  propriety  of  a  tariff  sufficient  for  rev- 
enue, but  even  they  will  not  in  practice  vote  for 
such  a  tariff;  while  others  boldly  advocate  direct 

1  This  address,  signed  by  Mr.  Lincoln  and  two  other 
members  of  the  Whig  Committee,  was  written  by  Mr.  Lin- 
coln, and  was  an  effective  exposition  of  his  principles  at 
the  time. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  35 

taxation.  Inasmuch,  therefore,  as  some  of  them 
boldly  advocate  direct  taxation,  and  all  the  rest 
—  or  so  nearly  all  as  to  make  exceptions  need- 
less —  refuse  to  adopt  the  tariff,  we  think  it  is 
doing  them  no  injustice  to  class  them  all  as  advo- 
cates of  direct  taxation.  Indeed,  we  believe 
they  are  only  delaying  an  open  avowal  of  the 
system  till  they  can  assure  themselves  that  the 
people  will  tolerate  it.  Let  us,  then,  briefly 
compare  the  two  systems.  The  tariff  is  the 
cheaper  system,  because  the  duties,  being  col- 
lected in  large  parcels,  at  a  few  commercial 
points,  will  require  comparatively  few  officers  in 
their  collection ;  while  by  the  direct  tax  system 
the  land  must  be  literally  covered  with  assessors 
and  collectors,  going  forth  like  swarms  of  Egyp- 
tian locusts,  devouring  every  blade  of  grass  and 
other  green  thing.  And  again  by  the  tariff  sys- 
tem the  whole  revenue  is  paid  by  the  consumers 
of  foreign  goods,  and  those  chiefly  the  luxuries 
and  not  the  necessaries  of  life.  By  this  system, 
the  man  who  contents  himself  to  live  upon  the 
products  of  his  own  country  pays  nothing  at  all. 
And  surely  that  country  is  extensive  enough,  and 
its  products  abundant  and  varied  enough,  to  an- 
swer all  the  real  wants  of  its  people.  In  short, 
by  this  system  the  burden  of  revenue  falls  almost 


36  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

entirely  on  the  wealthy  and  luxurious  few,  while 
the  substantial  and  labouring  many,  who  live  at 
home  and  upon  home  products,  go  entirely  free. 
By  the  direct  tax  system,  none  can  escape. 
However  strictly  the  citizen  may  exclude  from 
his  premises  all  foreign  luxuries,  fine  cloths,  fine 
silks,  rich  wines,  golden  chains,  and  diamond 
rings,  —  still,  for  the  possession  of  his  house,  his 
barn,  and  his  homespun  he  is  to  be  perpetually 
haunted  and  harassed  by  the  tax-gatherer.  With 
these  views,  we  leave  it  to  be  determined  whether 
we  or  our  opponents  are  more  truly  democratic 
on  the  subject. 

"  .  .  .  We  declare  it  to  be  our  solemn  con- 
viction that  the  Whigs  are  always  a  majority  of 
this  nation ;  and  that  to  make  them  always  suc- 
cessful needs  but  to  get  them  all  to  the  polls  and 
to  vote  unitedly.  This  is  the  great  desideratum. 
Let  us  make  every  effort  to  attain  it.  At  every 
election,  let  every  Whig  act  as  though  he  knew 
the  result  to  depend  upon  his  action.  In  the 
great  contest  of  1840,  some  more  than  twenty- 
one  hundred  thousand  votes  were  cast,  and  so 
surely  as  there  shall  be  that  many,  with  the  ordi- 
nary increase  added,  cast  in  1844,  tnat  surely 
will  a  Whig  be  elected  President  of  the  United 
States." 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  37 


FROM  HIS  SPEECH  IN  THE  HOUSE  OF   REPRESEN- 
TATIVES OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.1 

July  27,  1848. 

"...  I  have  said  General  Taylor's  position 
is  as  well  defined  as  is  that  of  General  Cass. 
In  saying  this,  I  admit  I  do  not  certainly  know 
what  he  would  do  on  the  Wilmot  proviso.  I  am 
a  Northern  man,  or  rather  a  Western  free-state 
man,  with  a  constituency  I  believe  to  be,  and 
with  personal  feelings  I  know  to  be,  against  the 
extension  of  slavery.  As  such,  and  with  what  in- 
formation I  have,  I  hope  and  believe  General  Tay- 
lor, if  elected,  would  not  veto  the  proviso.  But  I 
do  not  know  it.  Yet  if  I  knew  he  would,  I  still 

1  No  apology  is  deemed  necessary  for  these  selections 
from  Mr.  Lincoln's  last  important  speech  in  Congress.  It 
may  be  conceded  that  they  are  undignified  ;  and  yet  they 
indicate  that  the  seed  sown  in  his  early  life  had  not  fallen 
upon  barren  ground.  It  germinates  slightly  in  his 
eulogy  upon  Henry  Clay,  in  1852;  it  grows  strong  in  the 
speech  at  Peoria,  in  1854;  is  still  more  vigorous  in  the 
criticism  of  the  Dred  Scott  decision,  in  1857 ;  and  its  rip- 
ened fruit  appears  in  the  "  Divided  House  "  speech  of 
June,  1858.  The  speech  of  July  27,  1848,  marks  the  end 
of  a  stage  in  the  intellectual  growth  of  its  author,  —  the 
change  of  the  politician  into  the  statesman.  It  was  the 
time  when  he  laid  aside  satire  and  ridicule,  and  thence- 
forward only  made  use  of  argument  and  historical  or  phi- 
losophic demonstration. 


38  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

would  vote  for  him.  I  should  do  so,  because,  in 
my  judgment,  his  election  alone  can  defeat  Gen- 
eral Cass ;  and  because,  should  slavery  thereby 
go  to  the  territory  we  now  have,  just  so  much  will 
certainly  happen  by  the  election  of  Cass,  and,  in 
addition,  a  course  of  policy  leading  to  new  wars, 
new  acquisitions  of  territory,  and  still  further  ex- 
tensions of  slavery.  One  of  the  two  is  to  be 
President ;  which  is  preferable  ? 

"...  The  other  day,  one  of  the  gentlemen 
from  Georgia  [Mr.  Iverson],  an  eloquent  man,  and 
a  man  of  learning,  so  far  as  I  can  judge,  not  be- 
ing learned  myself,  came  down  upon  us  astonish- 
ingly. He  spoke  in  what  the  Baltimore '  American ' 
calls  '  the  scathing  and  withering  style.'  At  the 
end  of  his  second  severe  flash  I  was  struck  blind, 
and  found  myself  feeling  with  my  fingers  for  an 
assurance  of  my  continued  physical  existence. 
A  little  of  the  bone  was  left,  and  I  gradually  re- 
vived. He  eulogised  Mr.  Clay  in  high  and  beau- 
tiful terms,  and  then  declared  that  we  had 
deserted  all  our  principles,  and  had  turned  Henry 
Clay  out,  like  an  old  horse,  to  root.  This  is  terribly 
severe.  It  cannot  be  answered  by  argument ;  at 
least,  I  cannot  so  answer  it.  I  merely  wish  to 
ask  the  gentleman  if  the  Whigs  are  the  only 
party  he  can  think  of  who  sometimes  turn  old 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


39 


horses  out  to  root.  Is  not  a  certain  Martin  Van 
Buren  an  old  horse  which  your  own  party  have 
turned  out  to  root?  And  is  he  not  rooting  to 
your  discomfort  about  now? 

"  .  .  .  But  the  gentleman  from  Georgia  fur- 
ther says  we  have  deserted  all  our  principles  and 
taken  shelter  under  General  Taylor's  military 
coat-tail,  and  he  seems  to  think  this  is  exceed- 
ing degrading.  Well,  as  his  faith  is,  so  be  it  unto 
him.  But  can  he  remember  no  other  military 
coat-tail  under  which  a  certain  other  party  have 
been  sheltering  for  near  a  quarter  of  a  century? 
Has  he  no  acquaintance  with  the  ample  military 
coat-tail  of  General  Jackson  ?  Does  he  not  know 
that  his  own  party  have  run  the  last  five  presi- 
dential races  under  that  coat-tail,  and  that  they 
are  now  running  the  sixth  under  that  same  cover  ? 
Yes,  sir.  That  coat-tail  was  used  not  only  for 
General  Jackson  himself,  but  has  been  clung  to 
with  the  grip  of  death  by  every  Democratic  can- 
didate since. 

"...  By  the  way,  Mr.  Speaker,  did  you 
know  I  am  a  military  hero  ?  Yes,  sir,  in  the  days 
of  the  Black  Hawk  War,  I  fought,  bled,  and  came 
away.  Speaking  of  General  Cass's  career,  re- 
minds me  of  my  own.  I  was  not  at  Stillman's 
defeat,  but  I  was  about  as  near  it  as  Cass  was  to 


4o  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Hull's  surrender ;  and,  like  him,  I  saw  the  place 
very  soon  afterward.  It  is  quite  certain  I  did  not 
break  my  sword,  for  I  had  none  to  break ;  but  I 
bent  a  musket  pretty  badly  on  one  occasion.  If 
Cass  broke  his  sword,  the  idea  is  he  broke  it  in 
desperation  ;  I  bent  the  musket  by  accident.  If 
General  Cass  went  in  advance  of  me  in  picking 
huckleberries,  I  guess  I  surpassed  him  in  charges 
upon  the  wild  onions.  If  he  saw  any  live  fight- 
ing Indians,  it  was  more  than  I  did ;  but  I  had  a 
good  many  bloody  struggles  with  the  mosquitoes, 
and  although  I  never  fainted  from  loss  of  blood, 
I  can  truly  say  I  was  often  very  hungry.  .  .  ." 


THE  EULOGY  UPON  HENRY  CLAY. 

July  16,  1852. 

NOTE.  —  The  fact  is  mentioned  by  all  the 
biographers  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  except  Nicolay  and 
Hay,  that  on  the  i6th  of  July,  1852,  at  the  re- 
quest of  his  fellow-citizens,  he  delivered,  at  the 
State  House  in  Springfield,  an  eulogy  upon 
Henry  Clay.  In  the  most  comprehensive  of 
these  biographies,  no  mention  appears  to  be 
made  ot  this  eulogy,  and  of  at  least  one  other 
address  made  by  Mr.  Lincoln.  No  selections 
are  made  from  this  eulogy  for  obvious  reasons. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  4I 

It  was  regarded  at  the  time  as  unworthy  of  its 
writer.  Dr.  Holland  says,  "  The  eulogy  was  pro- 
nounced in  the  State  House,  and  was  listened  to 
by  a  large  audience.  The  discourse,  as  it  was 
printed  in  the  city  newspapers  of  the  day,  was 
by  no  means  a  remarkable  one.  It  is  remem- 
bered as  a  very  dull  one  at  its  delivery,  and  was 
so  regarded  by  Mr.  Lincoln  himself,  who  com- 
plained that  he  lacked  the  imagination  necessary 
for  a  performance  of  that  character." 

Mr.  Lamon  says,  "  Such  addresses  are  usually 
called  orations;  but  this  one  scarcely  deserved 
the  name.  He  made  no  effort  to  be  eloquent, 
and  in  no  part  of  it  was  he  more  than  ordinarily 
animated.  It  is  true  that  he  bestowed  great 
praise  upon  Mr.  Clay ;  but  it  was  bestowed  in 
cold  phrases  and  a  tame  style,  wholly  unlike  the 
bulk  of  his  previous  compositions.  ...  If  the 
address  upon  Clay  is  of  any  historical  value  at 
all,  it  is  because  it  discloses  Mr.  Lincoln's  unre- 
served agreement  with  Mr.  Clay  in  his  opinions 
concerning  slavery  and  the  proper  method  of  ex- 
tinguishing it.  They  both  favoured  gradual  eman- 
cipation by  the  voluntary  action  of  the  people  of 
the  slave  States  and  the  transportation  of  the 
whole  negro  population  to  Africa,"  etc. 

Lapse  of  time  and  the  distinguished  career  of 
its  author  have  only  served  to  confirm  the  justice 
of  the  contemporary  criticisms  of  this  paper.  As 
it  appears  in  the  "Collected  Writings"  of  its 
author,  it  is  the  most  conspicuous  of  the  two  or 
three  papers  which  do  not  illustrate  the  thought- 


42  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

ful  preparation  which  Mr.  Lincoln  usually  gave 
to  his  addresses,  to  which  our  literature  is  in- 
debted for  so  many  gems  of  thought  which  will 
permanently  enrich  and  adorn  its  pages. 

After  a  dry  enumeration  of  the  public  offices 
filled  by  Mr.  Clay,  the  eulogy  includes  a  long 
obituary  notice  from  one  of  the  public  journals, 
the  name  of  which  is  not  given.  It  mentions 
the  public  questions,  including  the  Compromise 
of  1820,  in  which  Mr.  Clay  took  a  leading  part, 
and  its  remaining  pages  are  occupied  by  an  ac- 
count of  Mr.  Clay's  labours,  in  connection  with 
the  American  Colonisation  Society,  in  attempting 
to  popularise  the  impossible  scheme  of  abolish- 
ing slavery  by  the  deportation  of  the  negro  race 
to  Africa.  One  point  in  the  eulogy  is  of  some  in- 
terest in  view  of  the  use  afterwards  made  of  it  by 
Mr.  Lincoln.  It  is  his  contention  that  the  "  Fath- 
ers "  intended  to  include  the  negro  in  the  state- 
ment in  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  that 
"  all  men  are  created  equal,"  and  that  Mr.  Cal- 
houn  was  the  first  American  of  any  note  to  assail 
or  ridicule  the  claim  of  the  black  man  to  a  place 
in  the  "white  man's  charter  of  freedom."  His 
comment  upon  Mr.  Calhoun's  new  exposition  has 
in  it  a  spark  of  the  Lincoln  humour,  and  has  a 
singular  appropriateness  in  1895.  "We,  how- 
ever, look  for  and  are  not  much  shocked  by 
political  eccentricities  and  heresies  in  South 
Carolina." 

There  is  not  value  enough  in  its  few  bright 
thoughts  to  relieve  the  dulness  of  this  document. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


43 


No  selections  from  it  which  would  increase  his 
fame  or  serve  any  useful  purpose,  are  possible. 
It  is  omitted,  then,  with  the  consolatory  reflection 
"  aliquando  dormitat  bonus  Homerus." 


FROM  HIS   REPLY  TO  SENATOR  DOUGLAS,   DELIV- 
'     ERED  AT  PEORIA,    ILLINOIS.     ORIGIN  OF   THE 

WlLMOT    PROVISO.1 

October  16,  1854. 

"...  Our  war  with  Mexico  broke  out  in 
1846.  When  Congress  was  about  adjourning  that 
session,  President  Polk  asked  them  to  place  two 
millions  of  dollars  under  his  control,  to  be  used 
by  him  in  the  recess,  if  found  practicable  and 
expedient,  in  negotiating  a  treaty  of  peace  with 
Mexico,  and  acquiring  some  part  of  her  territory. 
A  bill  was  duly  gotten  up  for  the  purpose,  and 
was  progressing  swimmingly  in  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives, when  a  Democratic  member  from 
Pennsylvania  by  the  name  of  David  Wilmot  moved 
as  an  amendment,  '  Provided,  that  in  any  terri- 

1  This  speech  was  written  out  by  Mr.  Lincoln,  and 
published  under  his  direction.  It  was  his  first  speech 
which  attracted  public  attention.  It  is  important,  because 
it  shows  the  gradual  growth  of  the  argument  presented  in 
the  "divided  House  "  speech  of  June,  1858. 


44 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


tory  thus  acquired  there  shall  never  be  slavery.' 
This  is  the  origin  of  the  far-famed  Wilmot  Pro- 
viso. It  created  a  great  flutter ;  but  it  stuck  like 
wax,  was  voted  into  the  bill,  and  the  bill  passed 
with  it  through  the  House.  The  Senate,  how- 
ever, adjourned  without  final  action  on  it,  and 
so  both  the  appropriation  and  the  proviso  were 
lost  for  the  time. 

"...  This  declared  indifference,  but,  as  I  must 
think,  real,  covert  zeal,  for  the  spread  of  slavery,  I 
cannot  but  hate.  I  hate  it  because  of  the  mon- 
strous injustice  of  slavery  itself.  I  hate  it  because 
it  deprives  our  republican  example  of  its  just 
influence  in  the  world,  enables  the  enemies  of  free 
institutions  with  plausibility  to  taunt  us  as  hypo- 
crites, causes  the  real  friends  of  freedom  to  doubt 
our  sincerity,  and  especially  because  it  forces 
so  many  good  men  amongst  ourselves  into  an 
open  war  with  the  very  fundamental  principles  of 
civil  liberty,  criticising  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, and  insisting  that  there  is  no  right 
principle  of  action  but  self-interest.  .  .  . 

"...  Equal  justice  to  the  South,  it  is  said, 
requires  us  to  consent  to  the  extension  of  slavery 
to  new  countries.  That  is  to  say,  that  inasmuch 
as  you  do  not  object  to  my  taking  my  hog  to 
Nebraska,  therefore  I  must  not  object  to  your 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  45 

taking  your  slave.  Now,  I  admit  that  this  is  per- 
fectly logical,  if  there  is  no  difference  between 
hogs  and  slaves.  But  while  you  thus  require  me 
to  deny  the  humanity  of  the  negro,  I  wish  to  ask 
whether  you  of  the  South,  yourselves,  have  ever 
been  willing  to  do  as  much  ?  It  is  kindly  pro- 
vided that  of  all  those  who  come  into  the  world, 
only  a  small  percentage  are  natural  tyrants. 
That  percentage  is  no  larger  in  the  slave  States 
than  in  the  free.  The  great  majority,  South  as 
well  as  North,  have  human  sympathies,  of  which 
they  can  no  more  divest  themselves  than  they 
can  of  their  sensibility  to  physical  pain.  These 
sympathies  in  the  bosoms  of  the  Southern  people 
manifest  in  many  ways  their  sense  of  the  wrong 
of  slavery,  and  their  consciousness  that,  after  all, 
there  is  humanity  in  the  negro.  ...  In  1820 
you  joined  the  North  almost  unanimously  in  de- 
claring the  African  slave-trade  piracy,  and  in 
annexing  to  it  the  punishment  of  death.  Why 
did  you  do  this?  If  you  did  not  feel  that  it  was 
wrong,  why  did  you  join  in  providing  that  men 
should  be  hung  for  it?  The  practice  was  no 
more  than  bringing  wild  negroes  from  Africa  to 
such  as  would  buy  them.  But  you  never  thought 
of  hanging  men  for  catching  and  selling  wild 
horses,  wild  buffaloes,  or  wild  bears. 


46  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

"  Again,  you  have  among  you  a  sneaking  indi- 
vidual of  the  class  of  native  tyrants  known  as  the 
slave-dealer.  He  watches  your  necessities,  and 
crawls  up  to  buy  your  slave  at  a  speculating  price. 
If  you  cannot  help  it,  you  sell  to  him  ;  but  if  you 
can  help  it,  you  drive  him  from  your  door.  You 
despise  him  utterly;  you  do  not  recognise  him 
as  a  friend,  or  even  as  an  honest  man.  Your 
children  must  not  play  with  his  ;  they  may  rollick 
freely  with  the  little  negroes,  but  not  with  the 
slave-dealer's  children.  If  you  are  obliged  to 
deal  with  him,  you  try  to  get  through  the  job 
without  so  much  as  touching  him.  It  is  common 
with  you  to  join  hands  with  the  men  you  meet ; 
but  with  the  slave-dealer  you  avoid  the  ceremony, 
—  instinctively  shrinking  from  the  snaky  contact. 
If  he  grows  rich  and  retires  from  business,  you 
still  remember  him,  and  still  keep  up  the  ban  of 
non-intercourse  upon  him  and  his  family.  Now, 
why  is  this? 

"  .  .  .  And  yet  again.  There  are  in  the 
United  States  and  Territories,  including  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia,  over  four  hundred  and  thirty 
thousand  free  blacks.  At  five  hundred  dollars 
per  head,  they  are  worth  over  two  hundred  mil- 
lions of  dollars.  How  comes  this  vast  amount  of 
property  to  be  running  about  without  owners? 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  47 

We  do  not  see  free  horses  or  free  cattle  running 
at  large.  How  is  this  ?  All  these  free  blacks  are 
the  descendants  of  slaves,  or  have  been  slaves 
themselves ;  and  they  would  be  slaves  now  but 
for  something  which  has  operated  on  their  white 
owners,  inducing  them  at  vast  pecuniary  sacrifice 
to  liberate  them.  What  is  that  something?  Is 
there  any  mistaking  it?  In  all  these  cases  it  is 
your  sense  of  justice  and  human  sympathy  con- 
tinually telling  you  that  the  poor  negro  has  some 
natural  right  to  himself,  —  that  those  who  deny  it 
and  make  mere  merchandise  of  him  deserve  kick- 
ings,  contempt,  and  death. 

"...  But  one  great  argument  in  support  of 
the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  is  still  to 
come.  That  argument  is  '  the  sacred  right  of 
self-government.'  .  .  .  Some  poet  has  said,  — 

'  Fools  rush  in  where  angels  fear  to  tread.' 

At  the  hazard  of  being  thought  one  of  the  fools 
of  this  quotation,  I  meet  that  argument,  —  I  rush 
in,  —  I  take  that  bull  by  the  horns.  .  .  .  My 
faith  in  the  proposition  that  each  man  should  do 
precisely  as  he  pleases  with  all  which  is  exclu- 
sively his  own,  lies  at  the  foundation  of  the  sense 
of  justice  there  is  in  me.  I  extend  the  prin- 
ciple to  communities  of  men  as  well  as  to  indi- 


48  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

viduals.  I  so  extend  it  because  it  is  politically 
wise  as  well  as  naturally  just,  —  politically  wise  in 
saving  us  from  broils  about  matters  which  do  not 
concern  us.  Here,  or  at  Washington,  I  would 
not  trouble  myself  with  the  oyster  laws  of  Vir- 
ginia, or  the  cranberry  laws  of  Indiana.  The 
doctrine  of  self-government  is  right,  —  absolutely 
and  eternally  right ;  but  it  has  no  just  application 
as  here  attempted.  Or  perhaps  I  should  rather 
say  that  whether  it  has  any  application  here  de- 
pends upon  whether  a  negro  is  not  or  is  a  man. 
If  he  is  not  a  man,  in  that  case  he  who  is  a  man 
may,  as  a  matter  of  self-government,  do  just  what 
he  pleases  with  him.  But  if  the  negro  is  a  man, 
is  it  not  to  that  extent  a  total  destruction  of  self- 
government  to  say  that  he,  too,  shall  not  govern 
himself?  When  the  white  man  governs  himself, 
that  is  self-government ;  but  when  he  governs 
himself  and  also  governs  another  man,  that  is 
more  than  self-government,  —  that  is  despot- 
ism. If  the  negro  is  a  man,  then  my  ancient 
faith  teaches  me  that  '  all  men  are  created  equal,' 
and  that  there  can  be  no  moral  right  in  connec- 
tion with  one  man's  making  a  slave  of  another. 

"...  Frequently  and  with  bitter  irony  our 
argument  is  paraphrased  by  saying,  'The  white 
people  of  Nebraska  are  good  enough  to  govern 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


49 


themselves,  but  they  are  not  good  enough  to  gov- 
ern a  few  miserable  negroes  ! ' 

"  Well,  I  doubt  not  that  the  people  of  Ne- 
braska are  and  will  continue  to  be  as  good  as 
the  average  of  people  elsewhere.  I  do  not  say 
the  contrary.  What  I  do  say  is  that  no  man  is 
good  enough  to  govern  another  man  without 
that  other's  consent.  I  say  this  is  the  lead- 
ing principle,  —  the  sheet-anchor  of  American 
republicanism. 

"...  Slavery  is  founded  in  the  selfishness  of 
man's  nature,  —  opposition  to  it  in  his  love  of  jus- 
tice. These  principles  are  in  eternal  antagonism, 
and  when  brought  into  collision  so  fiercely  as  slav- 
ery extension  brings  them,  shocks  and  throes  and 
convulsions  must  ceaselessly  follow.  Repeal  the 
Missouri  Compromise ;  repeal  all  compromises  ; 
repeal  the  Declaration  of  Independence ;  repeal 
all  past  history,  —  you  still  cannot  repeal  human 
nature.  It  still  will  be  the  abundance  of  man's 
heart  that  slavery  extension  is  wrong,  and  out  of 
the  abundance  of  his  heart  his  mouth  will  con- 
tinue to  speak.  .  .  . 

"  The  Missouri  Compromise  ought  to  be  re- 
stored. .  .  .  But  whether  it  be  or  not,  we  shall 
have  repudiated  —  discarded  from  the  councils 
of    the    nation  —  the    spirit    of    compromise ; 
4 


5o  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

for  who,  after  this,  will  ever  trust  in  a  national 
compromise?  The  spirit  of  mutual  concession 
—  that  spirit  which  first  gave  us  the  Constitution, 
and  has  thrice  saved  the  Union  —  we  shall  have 
strangled  and  cast  from  us  for  ever.  And  what 
shall  we  have  in  lieu  of  it?  The  South  flushed 
witli  triumph  and  tempted  to  excess ;  the  North 
betrayed,  as  they  believe,  brooding  on  wrong  and 
burning  for  revenge.  One  side  will  provoke,  the 
other  resent.  The  one  will  taunt,  the  other  defy ; 
one  aggresses,  the  other  retaliates.  Already  a 
few  in  the  North  defy  all  constitutional  restraints, 
resist  the  execution  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law,  and 
even  menace  the  institution  of  slavery  in.  the  States 
where  it  exists.  Already  a  few  in  the  South  claim 
the  constitutional  right  to  take  and  hold  slaves  in 
the  free  States,  demand  the  revival  of  the  slave- 
trade,  and  demand  a  treaty  with  Great  Britain 
by  which  fugitive  slaves  may  be  reclaimed  from 
Canada.  As  yet  they  are  but  few  on  either  side. 
It  is  a  grave  question  for  lovers  of  the  Union, 
whether  the  final  destruction  of  the  Missouri  Com- 
promise, and  with  it  the  spirit  of  all  compromise, 
will  or  will  not  embolden  and  embitter  each  of 
these,  and  fatally  increase  the  number  of  both. 

"...  Some    men,  mostly  Whigs,  who   con- 
demn the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise, 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  5I 

nevertheless  hesitate  to  go  for  its  restoration,  lest 
they  be  thrown  in  company  with  the  Abolition- 
ists. Will  they  allow  me,  as  an  old  Whig,  to  tell 
them  good-humouredly  that  I  think  this  is  very 
silly?  Stand  with  anybody  that  stands  right. 
Stand  with  him  while  he  is  right,  and  part  with  him 
when  he  goes  wrong.  Stand  with  the  Abolition- 
ist in  restoring  the  Missouri  Compromise,  and 
stand  against  him  when  he  attempts  to  repeal  the 
Fugitive  Slave  Law.  ...  In  both  cases  you 
are  right.  ...  In  both  you  are  national,  and 
nothing  less  than  national.  ...  To  desert  such 
ground  because  of  any  company  is  to  be  less 
than  a  Whig,  less  than  a  man,  less  than  an 
American. 

"I  particularly  object  to  the  new  position 
which  the  avowed  principle  of  this  Nebraska  law 
gives  to  slavery  in  the  body  politic.  I  object  to 
it  because  it  assumes  that  there  can  be  moral 
right  in  the  enslaving  of  one  man  by  another. 
...  I  object  to  it  because  the  Fathers  of  the 
Republic  eschewed  and  rejected  it.  ...  The 
plain,  unmistakable  spirit  of  their  age  towards 
slavery  was  hostility  to  the  principle,  and  tolera- 
tion only  by  necessity. 

"  But  now  it  is  to  be  transformed  into  a  sacred 
right.  .  .  .  Henceforth  it  is  to  be  the  chief  jewel 


5 2  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

of  the  nation,  —  the  very  figure-head  of  the  ship 
of  State.  Little  by  little,  but  steadily  as  man's 
march  to  the  grave,  we  have  been  giving  up  the 
old  for  the  new  faith.  Near  eighty  years  ago  we 
began  by  declaring  that  all  men  are  created 
equal ;  but  now  from  that  beginning  we  have  run 
down  to  the  other  declaration,  that  for  some  men 
to  enslave  others  is  a  sacred  right  of  self-govern- 
ment. These  principles  cannot  stand  together. 
They  are  as  opposite  as  God  and  Mammon; 
and  whoever  holds  to  the  one  must  despise  the 
other.  ... 

"  Our  Republican  robe  is  soiled  and  trailed  in 
the  dust.  Let  us  purify  it.  Let  us  turn  and 
wash  it  white  in  the  spirit  if  not  the  blood  of  the 
Revolution.  Let  us  turn  slavery  from  its  claims 
of  moral  right,  back  upon  its  existing  legal  rights 
and  its  arguments  of  necessity.  Let  us  return  it 
to  the  position  our  fathers  gave  it,  and  there  let 
it  rest  in  peace.  Let  us  re-adopt  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  and  with  it  the  practices  and 
policy  which  harmonise  with  it.  Let  North  and 
South,  let  all  Americans,  let  all  lovers  of  liberty 
everywhere,  join  in  the  great  and  good  work.  If 
we  do  this,  we  shall  not  only  have  saved  the 
Union,  but  we  shall  have  so  saved  it  as  to  make 
and  to  keep  it  for  ever  worthy  of  the  saving. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  53 

We  shall  have  so  saved  it  that  the  succeeding 
millions  of  free,  happy  people,  the  world  over, 
shall  rise  up  and  call  us  blessed  to  the  latest 
generations.  .  .  ." 


EXTRACTS  FROM  LETTER  TO  JOSHUA  F.  SPEED.1 

August  24,  1855. 

"...  You  suggest  that  in  political  action  now, 
you  and  I  would  differ.  I  suppose  we  would  ; 
not  quite  so  much,  however,  as  you  may  think. 
You  know  I  dislike  slavery,  and  you  fully  admit 
the  abstract  wrong  of  it.  So  far  there  is  no  cause 
of  difference.  But  you  say  that  sooner  than  yield 
your  legal  right  to  the  slave,  especially  at  the  bid- 
ding of  those  who  are  not  themselves  interested, 
you  would  see  the  Union  dissolved.  I  am  not 
aware  that  any  one  is  bidding  you  yield  that 
right;  very  certainly  I  am  not.  I  leave  that 
matter  entirely  to  yourself.  I  also  acknowledge 
your  rights  and  my  obligations  under  the  Consti- 

1  In  this  letter  to  his  intimate  friend,  as  a  justification 
of  his  dislike  of  slavery,  Mr.  Lincoln  is  supposed  to  have 
referred  to  his  first  object-lesson  of  the  evils  of  the  insti- 
tution. If  the  incident  of  the  slave  auction  in  New 
Orleans  had  occurred,  it  is  believed  that  he  would  have 
referred  to  it  in  this  letter,  which  is  a  beautiful  illustra- 
tion of  the  sincerity  of  its  author. 


54 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


tution  in  regard  to  your  slaves.  I  confess  I  hate 
to  see  the  poor  creatures  hunted  down  and  caught 
and  carried  back  to  their  stripes  and  unrequited 
toil ;  but  I  bite  my  lips  and  keep  quiet.  In  1841, 
you  and  I  had  together  a  tedious  low- water  trip 
on  a  steamboat,  from  Louisville  to  St.  Louis.  You 
may  remember,  as  I  well  do,  that  from  Louisville 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  there  were  on  board 
ten  or  a  dozen  slaves  shackled  together  with  irons. 
That  sight  was  a  continued  torment  to  me,  and  I 
see  something  like  it  every  time  I  touch  the  Ohio 
or  any  other  slave  border.  It  is  not  fair  for  you 
to  assume  that  I  have  no  interest  in  a  thing  which 
has,  and  continually  exercises,  the  power  of  mak- 
ing me  miserable.  You  ought  rather  to  appreciate 
how  much  the  great  body  of  the  Northern  people 
do  crucify  their  feelings  in  order  to  maintain  their 
loyalty  to  the  Constitution  and  the  Union.  I  do 
oppose  the  extension  of  slavery,  because  my  judg- 
ment and  feeling  so  prompt  me,  and  I  am  under 
no  obligations  to  the  contrary.  If  for  this  you 
and  I  must  differ,  differ  we  must.  You  say  if 
you  were  President,  you  would  send  an  army  and 
hang  the  leaders  of  the  Missouri  outrages  upon 
the  Kansas  elections ;  still,  if  Kansas  fairly  votes 
herself  a  slave  State  she  must  be  admitted,  or  the 
Union  must  be  dissolved.  But  how  if  she  votes 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


55 


herself  a  slave  State  unfairly ;  that  is,  by  the  very 
means  for  which  you  say  you  would  hang  men  ? 
Must  she  still  be  admitted,  or  the  Union  dis- 
solved ?  That  will  be  the  phase  of  the  question 
when  it  first  becomes  a  practical  one.  In  yout 
assumption  that  there  may  be  a  fair  decision  of 
the  slavery  question  in  Kansas,  I  plainly  see  that 
you  and  I  would  differ  about  the  Nebraska  law. 
I  look  upon  that  enactment,  not  as  a  law,  but  as 
a  violence  from  the  beginning.  It  was  conceived 
in  violence,  is  maintained  in  violence,  and  is 
being  executed  in  violence.  I  say  it  was  con- 
ceived in  violence,  because  the  destruction  of 
the  Missouri  Compromise,  under  the  circum- 
stances, was  nothing  less  than  violence.  It  was 
passed  in  violence,  because  it  could  not  have 
passed  at  all  but  for  the  votes  of  many  members 
in  violence  of  the  known  will  of  their  constitu- 
ents. It  is  maintained  in  violence,  because  the 
elections  since  clearly  demand  its  repeal,  and  the 
demand  is  openly  disregarded. 

"  You  say  men  ought  to  be  hung  for  the  way 
they  are  executing  the  law ;  I  say  that  the  way  it 
is  being  executed  is  quite  as  good  as  any  of  its 
antecedents.  It  is  being  executed  in  the  precise 
way  which  was  intended  from  the  first,  else  why 
does  no  Nebraska  man  express  astonishment  or 


56  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

condemnation?  Poor  Reader  is  the  only  public 
man  who  has  been  silly  enough  to  believe  that 
anything  like  fairness  was  ever  intended,  and  he 
has  been  bravely  undeceived. 
^  "That  Kansas  will  form  a  slave  constitution, 
and  with  it  ask  to  be  admitted  into  the  Union, 
I  take  to  be  already  a  settled  question,  and  so 
settled  by  the  very  means  you  so  pointedly  con- 
demn. By  every  principle  of  law  ever  held  by 
any  court  North  or  South,  every  negro  taken 
to  Kansas  is  free ;  yet  in  utter  disregard  of  this 
—  in  the  spirit  of  violence  merely  —  that  beau- 
tiful Legislature  gravely  passes  a  law  to  hang  any 
man  who  shall  venture  to  inform  a  negro  of  his 
legal  rights.  This  is  the  subject  and  real  object 
of  the  law.  If,  like  Haman,  they  should  hang 
upon  the  gallows  of  their  own  building,  I  shall 
not  be  among  the  mourners  for  their  fate.  In 
my  humble  sphere,  I  shall  advocate  the  restora- 
tion of  the  Missouri  Compromise  so  long  as 
Kansas  remains  a  Territory ;  and  when,  by  all 
these  foul  means,  it  seeks  to  come  into  the 
Union  as  a  slave  State,  I  shall  oppose  it.  I  am 
very  loath  in  any  case  to  withhold  my  assent  to 
the  enjoyment  of  property  acquired  or  located 
in  good  faith  ;  but  I  do  not  admit  that  good  faith 
in  taking  a  negro  to  Kansas  to  be  held  in  slavery 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  57 

is  a  probability  with  any  man.  Any  man  who 
has  sense  enough  to  be  the  controller  of  his  own 
property  has  too  much  sense  to  misunderstand 
the  outrageous  character  of  the  whole  Nebraska 
business.  But  I  digress.  In  my  opposition  to 
the  admission  of  Kansas,  I  shall  have  some  com- 
pany, but  we  may  be  beaten.  If  we  are,  I  shall 
not,  on  that  account,  attempt  to  dissolve  the 
Union.  I  think  it  probable,  however,  we  shall 
be  beaten.  Standing  as  a  unit  among  yourselves, 
you  can,  directly  and  indirectly,  bribe  enough  of 
our  men  to  carry  the  day,  as  you  could  on  the 
open  proposition  to  establish  a  monarchy.  Get 
hold  of  some  man  in  the  North  whose  position 
and  ability  are  such  that  he  can  make  the  sup- 
port of  your  measure,  whatever  it  may  be,  a 
Democratic-party  necessity,  and  the  thing  is 
done.  Apropos  of  this,  let  me  tell  you  an  anec- 
dote. Douglas  introduced  the  Nebraska  Bill  in 
January.  In  February  afterward,  there  was  a 
called  session  of  the  Illinois  Legislature.  Of 
the  one  hundred  members  composing  the  two 
branches  of  that  body,  about  seventy  were  Demo- 
crats. These  latter  held  a  caucus,  in  which  the 
Nebraska  Bill  was  talked  of,  if  not  formally  dis- 
cussed. It  was  thereby  discovered  that  just  three, 
and  no  more,  were  in  favour  of  the  measure.  In 


58  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

a  day  or  two  Douglas's  orders  came  on  to  have 
resolutions  passed  approving  the  bill ;  and  they 
were  passed  by  large  majorities  !  The  truth  of 
this  is  vouched  for  by  a  bolting  Democratic 
member.  The  masses  too,  Democratic  as  well 
as  Whig,  were  even  nearer  unanimous  against  it ; 
but  as  soon  as  the  party  necessity  of  supporting 
it  became  apparent,  the  way  the  Democrats  be- 
gan to  see  the  wisdom  and  justice  of  it  was 
perfectly  astonishing. 

"  You  say  that  if  Kansas  fairly  votes  herself  a 
free  State,  as  a  Christian  you  will  rejoice  at  it. 
All  decent  slaveholders  talk  that  way,  and  I  do 
not  doubt  their  candour ;  but  they  never  vote 
that  way.  Although  in  a  private  letter  or  con- 
versation you  will  express  your  preference  that 
Kansas  should  be  free,  you  would  vote  for  no 
man  for  Congress  who  would  say  the  same  thing 
publicly.  No  such  man  could  be  elected  from 
any  district  in  a  slave  State.  You  think  String- 
fellow  and  company  ought  to  be  hung.  .  .  . 
The  slave-breeders  and  slave-traders  are  a  small, 
odious,  and  detested  class  among  you ;  and  yet 
in  politics  they  dictate  the  course  of  all  of  you, 
and  are  as  completely  your  masters  as  you  are 
the  master  of  your  own  negroes.  You  inquire 
where  I  now  stand.  That  is  a  disputed  point. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


59 


I  think  I  am  a  Whig ;  but  others  say  there  are 
no  Whigs,  and  that  I  am  an  Abolitionist.  When 
I  was  at  Washington,  I  voted  for  the  Wilmot  Pro- 
viso as  good  as  forty  times ;  and  I  never  heard 
of  any  one  attempting  to  unwhig  me  for  that. 
I  now  do  no  more  than  oppose  the  extension  of 
slavery.  I  am  not  a  Know-nothing ;  that  is  cer- 
tain. How  could  I  be  ?  How  can  any  one  who 
abhors  the  oppression  of  negroes  be  in  favour 
of  degrading  classes  of  white  people?  Our 
progress  in  degeneracy  appears  to  me  to  be 
pretty  rapid.  As  a  nation,  we  began  by  declaring 
that  all  men  are  created  equal.  We  now  prac- 
tically read  it,  all  men  are  created  equal  except 
negroes.  When  the  Know-nothings  get  control, 
it  will  read,  all  men  are  created  equal  except  ne- 
groes and  foreigners  and  Catholics.  When  it 
comes  to  this,  I  shall  prefer  emigrating  to  some 
country  where  they  make  no  pretence  of  loving 
liberty  —  to  Russia,  for  instance,  where  despot- 
ism can  be  taken  pure,  and  without  the  base 
alloy  of  hypocrisy.  .  .  ." 


60  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


FROM  HIS   DISCUSSION  OF  THE  DECISION  IN  THE 
DRED  SCOTT  CASE,  AT  SPRINGFIELD,  ILLINOIS.1 

June  26,  1857. 

"...  And  now  as  to  the  Dred  Scott  decision. 
That  decision  declares  two  propositions,  —  first, 
that  a  negro  cannot  sue  in  the  United  States 
courts ;  and  secondly,  that  Congress  cannot  pro- 
hibit slavery  in  the  Territories.  It  was  made 
by  a  divided  court,  —  dividing  differently  on  the 
different  points.  Judge  Douglas  does  not  dis- 
cuss the  merits  of  the  decision,  and  in  that 
respect  I  shall  follow  his  example,  believing  I 

1  The  biographers  of  Mr.  Lincoln  do  not  seem  to  have 
given  to  this  speech  the  credit  to  which  it  is  entitled.  One 
of  them  says,  it  was  "not  of  much  consequence."  No 
doubt  it  would  have  attracted  more  notice  had  Mr.  Lincoln 
been  better  known ;  but  when  it  is  remembered  that  the 
speech  was  delivered  within  six  months  after  the  Dred 
Scott  decision  was  made ;  that  it  pointed  out  the  far-reach- 
ing force  of  that  decision ;  that  it  opened  all  the  terri- 
tories to  slavery  against  the  will  of  the  people  and  the 
territorial  legislature ;  that  it  was  a  masterly  analysis  of 
the  views  of  the  majority  of  the  court,  and  did  not  touch 
the  right  of  the  people  to  labour  for  its  reversal,  —  this 
speech  will  be  found  worthy  of  its  place  in  history,  fol- 
lowing the  speech  at  Peoria,  the  letter  to  Mr.  Speed,  and 
to  be  followed  by  the  "  divided  House  "  speech  of  the 
next  year. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  6 1 

could  no  more  improve  on  McLean  and  Curtis 
than  he  could  on  Taney. 

"  He  denounces  all  who  question  the  correct- 
ness of  that  decision,  as  offering  violent  resistance 
to  it:  But  who  resists  it?  Who  has,  in  spite  of 
the  decision,  declared  Dred  Scott  free,  and  re- 
sisted the  authority  of  his  master  over  him  ? 

"  Judicial  decisions  have  two  uses :  first,  to 
absolutely  determine  the  case  decided ;  and  sec- 
ondly, to  indicate  to  the  public  how  other  similar 
cases  will  be  decided  when  they  arise.  For  the 
latter  use,  they  are  called  '  precedents '  and 
'  authorities.' 

"  We  believe  as  much  as  Judge  Douglas  (per- 
haps more)  in  obedience  to  and  respect  for  the 
judicial  department  of  government.  We  think 
its  decisions  on  constitutional  questions,  when 
fully  settled,  should  control  not  only  the  par- 
ticular cases  decided,  but  the  general  policy  of 
the  country,  subject  to  be  disturbed  only  by 
amendments  of  the  Constitution,  as  provided 
in  that  instrument  itself.  More  than  this  would 
be  revolution.  But  we  think  the  Dred  Scott 
decision  is  erroneous.  We  know  the  court  that 
made  it  has  often  overruled  its  own  decisions, 
and  we  shall  do  what  we  can  to  have  it  overrule 
this.  We  offer  no  resistance  to  it. 


62  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

"Judicial  decisions  are  of  greater  or  less  au- 
thority as  precedents  according  to  circumstances. 
That  this  should  be  so,  accords  both  with  com- 
mon-sense and  the  customary  understanding  of 
the  legal  profession. 

"  If  this  important  decision  had  been  made  by 
the  unanimous  concurrence  of  the  judges,  and 
without  any  apparent  partisan  bias,  and  in  ac- 
cordance with  legal  public  expectation,  and  with 
the  steady  practice  of  the  departments  through- 
out our  history,  and  had  been  in  no  part  based 
on  assumed  historical  facts,  which  are  not  really 
true ;  or  if  wanting  in  some  of  these,  it  had  been 
before  the  court  more  than  once,  and  had  there 
been  affirmed  and  reaffirmed  through  a  course  of 
years,  —  it  then  might  be,  perhaps  would  be 
factious,  nay,  even  revolutionary,  not  to  acquiesce 
in  it  as  a  precedent. 

"  But  when,  as  is  true,  we  find  it  wanting  in 
all  these  claims  to  the  public  confidence,  it  is  not 
resistance,  it  is  not  factious,  it  is  not  even  disre- 
spectful to  treat  it  as  not  having  yet  quite  estab- 
lished a  settled  doctrine  for  the  country. 

"...  The  Chief  Justice  does  not  directly 
assert,  but  plainly  assumes  as  a  fact,  that  the 
public  estimate  of  the  black  man  is  more  favour- 
able now  than  it  was  in  the  days  of  the  Revolu- 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  63 

tion.  This  assumption  is  a  mistake.  In  some 
trifling  particulars  the  condition  of  that  race  has 
been  ameliorated ;  but  as  a  whole,  in  this  coun- 
try, the  change  between  then  and  now  is  decidedly 
the  other  way ;  and  their  ultimate  destiny  has  never 
appeared  so  hopeless  as  in  the  last  three  or  four 
years.  In  two  of  the  five  States  —  New  Jersey 
and  North  Carolina  —  that  then  gave  the  free 
negro  the  right  of  voting,  the  right  has  since 
been  taken  away ;  and  in  a  third,  New  York,  it 
has  been  greatly  abridged  :  while  it  has  not  been 
extended,  so  far  as  I  know,  to  a  single  additional 
State,  though  the  number  of  the  States  has  more 
than  doubled.  In  those  days,  as  I  understand, 
masters  could,  at  their  own  pleasure,  emancipate 
their  slaves ;  but  since  then  such  legal  restraints 
have  been  made  upon  emancipation  as  to  amount 
almost  to  prohibition.  In  those  days  legislatures 
held  the  unquestioned  power  to  abolish  slavery 
in  their  respective  States ;  but  now  it  is  becoming 
quite  fashionable  for  State  constitutions  to  with- 
hold that  power  from  the  legislatures.  In  those 
days,  by  common  consent,  the  spread  of  the 
black  man's  bondage  to  the  new  countries  was 
prohibited  ;  but  now  Congress  decides  that  it  will 
not  continue  the  prohibition,  and  the  Supreme 
Court  decides  that  it  could  not  if  it  would.  In 


64  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

those  days  our  Declaration  of  Independence  was 
held  sacred  by  all,  and  thought  to  include  all; 
but  now,  to  aid  in  making  the  bondage  of  the 
negro  universal  and  eternal,  it  is  assailed  and 
sneered  at,  and  construed,  and  hawked  at,  and 
torn,  till,  if  its  framers  could  rise  from  their 
graves,  they  could  not  at  all  recognise  it.  All 
the  powers  of  earth  seem  rapidly  combining 
against  him.  Mammon  is  after  him;  ambition 
follows,  philosophy  follows,  and  the  theology  of 
the  day  is  fast  joining  in  the  cry.  They  have 
him  in  his  prison-house ;  they  have  searched  his 
person,  and  left  no  prying  instrument  with  him. 
One  after  another  they  have  closed  the  heavy 
iron  doors  upon  him;  and  now  they  have  him, 
as  it  were,  bolted  in  with  a  lock  of  a  hundred 
keys,  which  can  never  be  unlocked  without  the 
concurrence  of  every  key  ;  the  keys  in  the  hands 
of  a  hundred  different  men,  and  they  scattered  to 
a  hundred  different  and  distant  places ;  and  they 
stand  musing  as  to  what  invention,  in  all  the 
dominions  of  mind  and  matter,  can  be  produced 
to  make  the  impossibility  of  escape  more  com- 
plete than  it  is.  It  is  grossly  incorrect  to  say  or 
assume  that  the  public  estimate  of  the  negro  is 
more  favourable  now  than  it  was  at  the  origin  of 
the  government. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  $$ 

"...  There  is  a  natural  disgust  in  the  minds 
of  nearly  all  white  people  at  the  idea  of  an 
indiscriminate  amalgamation  of  the  white  and 
black  races;  and  Judge  Douglas  evidently  is 
basing  his  chief  hope  upon  the  chances  of 
his  being  able  to  appropriate  the  benefit  of 
this  disgust  to  himself.  If  he  can,  by  much 
drumming  and  repeating,  fasten  the  odium  of 
that  idea  upon  his  adversaries,  he  thinks  he 
can  struggle  through  the  storm.  He  therefore 
clings  to  this  hope  as  a  drowning  man  to  the 
last  plank.  He  makes  an  occasion  for  lugging 
it  in  from  the  opposition  to  the  Dred  Scott  de- 
cision. He  finds  the  Republicans  insisting  that 
the  Declaration  of  Independence  includes  all 
men,  black  as  well  as  white ;  and  forthwith  he 
boldly  denies  that  it  includes  negroes  at  all,  and 
proceeds  to  arguely  gravely  that  all  who  contend 
it  does,  do  so  only  because  they  want  to  vote,  and 
eat,  and  sleep,  and  marry  with  negroes  !  He  will 
have  it  that  they  cannot  be  consistent  else.  Now 
I  protest  against  the  counterfeit  logic  which  con- 
cludes that  because  I  do  not  want  a  black  woman 
for  a  slave,  I  must  necessarily  want  her  for  a  wife. 
I  need  not  have  her  for  either.  I  can  just  leave 
her  alone.  In  some  respects  she  certainly  is  not 
my  equal;  but  in  her  natural  right  to  eat  the 
5 


66  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

bread  she  earns  with  her  own  hands  without  ask- 
ing leave  of  any  one  else,  she  is  my  equal,  and  the 
equal  of  all  others. 

"  Chief  Justice  Taney,  in  his  opinion  in  the 
Dred  Scott  case,  admits  that  the  language  of  the 
Declaration  is  broad  enough  to  include  the  whole 
human  family;  but  he  and  Judge  Douglas  argue 
that  the  authors  of  that  instrument  did  not  in- 
tend to  include  negroes,  by  the  fact  that  they  did 
not  at  once  actually  place  them  on  an  equality 
with  the  whites.  Now  this  grave  argument  comes 
to  just  nothing  at  all,  by  the  other  fact  that  they 
did  not  at  once,  nor  ever  afterward,  actually  place 
all  white  people  on  an  equality  with  one  another. 
And  this  is  the  staple  argument  of  both  the  Chief 
Justice  and  the  senator,  for  doing  this  obvious 
violence  to  the  plain,  unmistakable  language  of 
the  Declaration. 

"  I  think  the  authors  of  that  notable  instru- 
ment intended  to  include  all  men,  but  they  did 
not  intend  to  declare  all  men  equal  in  all  respects. 
They  did  not  mean  to  say  that  all  were  equal  in 
color,  size,  intellect,  moral  developments,  or  social 
capacity.  They  defined  with  tolerable  distinct- 
ness in  what  respects  they  did  consider  all  men 
created  equal,  —  equal  with  '  certain  inalienable 
rights,  among  which  are  life,  liberty,  and  the  pur- 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  67 

suit  of  happiness.'  This  they  said,  and  this  they 
meant.  They  did  not  mean  to  assert  the  obvious 
untruth  that  all  were  then  actually  enjoying  that 
equality,  nor  yet  that  they  were  about  to  confer  it 
immediately  upon  them.  In  fact,  they  had  no 
power  to  confer  such  a  boon.  They  meant  simply 
to  declare  the  right,  so  that  the  enforcement  of 
it  might  follow  as  fast  as  circumstances  should 
permit. 

"They  meant  to  set  up  a  standard  maxim  for 
free  society,  which  should  be  familiar  to  all  and 
revered  by  all,  —  constantly  looked  to,  constantly 
laboured  for,  and,  even  though  never  perfectly 
attained,  constantly  approximated,  and  thereby 
constantly  spreading  and  deepening  its  influence, 
and  augmenting  the  happiness  and  value  of  life 
to  all  people  of  all  colours  everywhere.  •  The  as- 
sertion that  '  all  men  are  created  equal,'  was  of 
no  practical  use  in  effecting  our  separation  from 
Great  Britain ;  and  it  was  placed  in  the  Declara- 
tion, not  for  that,  but  for  future  use.  Its  authors 
meant  it  to  be  as,  thank  God,  it  is  now  proving 
itself,  a  stumbling-block  to  all  those  who  in  after 
times  might  seek  to  turn  a  free  people  back  into 
the  hateful  paths  of  despotism.  They  knew  the 
proneness  of  prosperity  to  breed  tyrants,  and  they 
meant,  when  such  should  reappear  in  this  fair  land 


68  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

and  commence  their  vocation,  that  they  should 
find  left  for  them  at  least  one  hard  nut  to  crack. 

" .  .  .  Judge  Douglas  makes  a  mere  wreck,  a 
mangled  ruin,  of  our  once  glorious  Declaration. 
He  says  '  they  were  speaking  of  British  subjects 
on  this  continent  being  equal  to  British  subjects 
born  and  residing  in  Great  Britain  ! '  Why,  ac- 
cording to  this,  not  only  negroes  but  white  people 
outside  of  Great  Britain  and  America  were  not 
spoken  of  in  that  instrument.  The  English,  Irish, 
and  Scotch,  along  with  white  Americans,  were 
included,  to  be  sure ;  but  the  French,  Germans, 
and  other  white  people  of  the  world  are  all  gone 
to  pot  along  with  the  Judge's  inferior  races  ! 

"  I  had  thought  that  the  Declaration  promised 
something  better  than  the  condition  of  British 
subjects  ;•  but  no,  it  only  meant  that  we  should 
be  equal  to  them  in  their  own  oppressed  and 
unequal  condition.  According  to  that,  it  gave 
no  promise  that,  having  kicked  off  the  king  and 
lords  of  Great  Britain,  we  should  not  at  once  be 
saddled  with  a  king  and  lords  of  our  own. 

"  I  had  thought  the  Declaration  contemplated 
the  progressive  improvement  in  the  condition  of 
all  men,  everywhere ;  but  no,  it  merely  '  was 
adopted  for  the  purpose  of  justifying  the  colo- 
nists in  the  eyes  of  the  civilised  world  in  with- 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  69 

drawing  their  allegiance  from  the  British  crown, 
and  dissolving  their  connection  with  the  mother- 
country.'  Why,  that  object  having  been  effected 
some  eighty  years  ago,  the  Declaration  is  of  no 
practical  use  now  —  mere  rubbish  —  old  wadding, 
left  to  rot  on  the  battle-field  after  the  victory  is 
won. 

"  I  understand  you  are  preparing  to  celebrate 
the  '  Fourth,'  to-morrow  week.  What  for  ?  The 
doings  of  that  day  had  no  reference  to  the  pres- 
ent ;  and  quite  half  of  you  are  not  even  descen- 
dants of  those  who  were  referred  to  at  that  day. 
But  I  suppose  you  will  celebrate,  and  will  even  go 
so  far  as  to  read  the  Declaration.  Suppose,  after 
you  read  it  once  in  the  old-fashioned  way,  you 
read  it  once  more  with  Judge  Douglas's  version. 
It  will  then  run  thus  :  '  We  hold  these  truths  to 
be  self-evident,  that  all  British  subjects  who  were 
on  this  continent  eighty-one  years  ago,  were 
created  equal  to  all  British  subjects  born  and 
then  residing  in  Great  Britain  ! ' 

"  .  .  .  The  very  Dred  Scott  case  affords  a 
strong  test  as  to  which  party  most  favours  amal- 
gamation, the  Republicans  or  the  dear  Union- 
saving  Democracy.  Dred  Scott,  his  wife  and 
two  daughters,  were  all  involved  in  the  suit.  We 
desired  the  court  to  have  held  that  they  were 


70  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

citizens,  so  far  at  least  as  to  entitle  them  to  a 
hearing  as  to  whether  they  were  free  or  not ;  and 
then  also,  that  they  were  in  fact  and  in  law  really 
free.  Could  we  have  had  our  way,  the  chances 
of  these  black  girls  ever  mixing  their  blood  with 
that  of  white  people  would  have  been  diminished 
at  least  to  the  extent  that  it  could  not  have  been 
without  their  consent.  But  Judge  Douglas  is 
delighted  to  have  them  decided  to  be  slaves, 
and  not  human  enough  to  have  a  hearing,  even 
if  they  were  free,  and  thus  left  subject  to  the 
forced  concubinage  of  their  masters,  and  liable  to 
become  the  mothers  of  mulattoes  in  spite  of  them- 
selves, —  the  very  state  of  the  case  that  produces 
nine-tenths  of  all  the  mulattoes,  all  the  mixing 
of  the  blood  of  the  nation. 

"...  Let  us  be  brought  to  believe  it  is  morally 
right,  and  at  the  same  time  favourable  to,  or  at 
least  not  against  our  interest  to  transfer  the  African 
to  his  native  clime,  and  we  shall  find  a  way  to  do 
it,  however  great  the  task  may  be.  The  children 
of  Israel,  to  such  numbers  as  to  include  four  hun- 
dred thousand  fighting  men,  went  out  of  Egyptian 
bondage  in  a  body. 

"...  The  plainest  print  cannot  be  read 
through  a  gold  eagle  ;  and  it  will  be  ever  hard 
to  find  many  men  who  will  send  a  slave  to  Li- 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  ji 

beria  and  pay  his  passage,  while  they  can  send 
him  to  a  new  country  —  Kansas,  for  instance  — 
and  sell  him  for  fifteen  hundred  dollars  and  the 
rise." 


THE  "  DIVIDED  HOUSE  "  SPEECH  DELIVERED  AT 
SPRINGFIELD,  ILLINOIS,  ON  HIS  NOMINATION  TO 
THE  SENATE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.1 

June  17,  1858. 

IF  we  could  first  know  where  we  are,  and 
whither  we  are  tending,  we  could  better  judge 
what  to  do,  and  how  to  do  it.  We  are  now  far 
into  the  fifth  year  since  a  policy  was  initiated 

1  This  speech  is  the  most  important  ever  made  by  Mr. 
Lincoln.  It  was  printed  and  circulated  with  the  report 
of  the  Lincoln  and  Douglas  debate,  and  it  brought  its 
author  prominently  before  the  people  of  the  whole  coun- 
try. No  careful  reader  of  this  speech  will  fail  to  discover 
that  it  cannot  be  condensed,  that  no  paragraph  in  it  can 
be  omitted  without  weakening  its  logic,  injuring  its  style, 
and  doing  injustice  to  its  author.  It  has  an  interesting 
history  which  it  does  not  fall  within  the  scope  of  this  vol- 
ume to  give.  It  should  always  be  presented  in  its  en- 
tirety, to  maintain  its  own  position  as  a  model  for  political 
speakers,  a  specimen  of  English  composition,  and,  whether 
judged  by  its  intrinsic  qualities  or  its  influence  upon  the 
fortunes  of  the  Republic,  one  of  the  greatest  of  all  politi- 
cal documents  since  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 


72  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

with  the  avowed  object  and  confident  promise  of 
putting  an  end  to  slavery  agitation.  Under  the 
operation  of  that  policy,  that  agitation  has  not 
only  not  ceased,  but  has  constantly  augmented. 
In  my  opinion  it  will  not  cease  until  a  crisis  shall 
have  been  reached  and  passed.  "  A  house  di- 
vided against  itself  cannot  stand."  I  believe  this 
government  cannot  endure  permanently,  half 
slave  and  half  free.  I  do  not  expect  the  Union 
to  be  dissolved,  —  I  do  not  expect  the  house  to 
fall ;  but  I  do  expect  it  will  cease  to  be  divided. 
It  will  become  all  one  thing,  or  all  the  other. 
Either  the  opponents  of  slavery  will  arrest  the 
further  spread  of  it,  and  place  it  where  the  pub- 
lic mind  shall  rest  in  the  belief  that  it  is  in  the 
course  of  ultimate  extinction ;  or  its  advocates 
will  push  it  forward  till  it  shall  become  alike  law- 
ful in  all  the  States,  old  as  well  as  new,  North  as 
well  as  South. 

Have  we  no  tendency  to  the  latter  condition? 
Let  any  one  who  doubts,  carefully  contemplate 
that  now  almost  complete  legal  combination  — 
piece  of  machinery,  so  to  speak  —  compounded 
of  the  Nebraska  doctrine  and  the  Dred  Scott  de- 
cision. Let  him  consider  not  only  what  work 
the  machinery  is  adapted  to  do,  and  how  well 
adapted ;  but  also  let  him  study  the  history  of  its 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


73 


construction,  and  trace,  if  he  can,  or  rather  fail, 
if  he  can,  to  trace  the  evidences  of  design  and 
concert  of  action  among  its  chief  architects  from 
the  beginning. 

The  new  year  of  1854  found  slavery  excluded 
from  more  than  half  the  States  by  State  constitu- 
tions, and  from  most  of  the  national  territory  by 
congressional  prohibition.  Four  days  later  com- 
menced the  struggle  which  ended  in  repealing 
that  congressional  prohibition.  This  opened  all 
the  national  territory  to  slavery,  and  was  the  first 
point  gained. 

But  so  far,  Congress  only  had  acted ;  and  an 
indorsement  by  the  people,  real  or  apparent, 
was  indispensable  to  save  the  point  already  gained 
and  give  chance  for  more. 

This  necessity  had  not  been  overlooked,  but 
had  been  provided  for,  as  well  as  might  be,  in  the 
notable  argument  of  Squatter  Sovereignty,  other- 
wise called  sacred  right  of  self-government,  which 
latter  phrase,  though  expressive  of  the  only  right- 
ful basis  of  any  government,  was  so  perverted  in 
this  attempted  use  of  it,  as  to  amount  to  just  this : 
That  if  any  one  man  choose  to  enslave  another, 
no  third  man  shall  be  allowed  to  object.  That 
argument  was  incorporated  into  the  Nebraska 
Bill  itself,  in  %  the  language  which  follows :  "  It 


74 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


being  the  true  intent  and  meaning  of  this  act,  not 
to  legislate  slavery  into  any  Territory  or  State,  nor 
to  exclude  it  therefrom ;  but  to  leave  the  people 
thereof  perfectly  free  to  form  and  regulate  their 
domestic  institutions  in  their  own  way,  subject 
only  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States." 
Then  opened  the  roar  of  loose  declamation  in 
favour  of  Squatter  Sovereignty  and  sacred  right  of 
self-government.  "But,"  said  opposition  mem- 
bers, "let  us  amend  the  bill  so  as  to  expressly 
declare  that  the  people  of  the  Territory  may 
exclude  slavery."  "  Not  we,"  said  the  friends  of 
the  measure,  and  down  they  voted  the  amend- 
ment. 

While  the  Nebraska  Bill  was  passing  through 
Congress,  a  law  case,  involving  the  question  of  a 
negro's  freedom,  by  reason  of  his  owner  having 
voluntarily  taken  him  first  into  a  free  State  and 
then  into  a  Territory  covered  by  the  congres- 
sional prohibition,  and  held  him  as  a  slave  for  a 
long  time  in  each,  was  passing  through  the 
United  States  Circuit  Court  for  the  District  of 
Missouri ;  and  both  Nebraska  Bill  and  lawsuit 
were  brought  to  a  decision,  in  the  same  month  of 
May,  1854.  The  negro's  name  was  "Dred 
Scott,"  which  name  now  designates  the  decision 
finally  rendered  in  the  case.  Before  the  then 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  75 

next  presidential  election,  the  law  case  came  to, 
and  was  argued,  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States ;  but  the  decision  of  it  was  deferred 
until  after  the  election.  Still,  before  the  election, 
Senator  Trumbull,  on  the  floor  of  the  Senate,  re- 
quested the  leading  advocate  of  the  Nebraska 
Bill  to  state  his  opinion  whether  the  people  of 
a  Territory  can  constitutionally  exclude  slavery 
from  their  limits,  and  the  latter  answers :  "  That 
is  a  question  for  the  Supreme  Court." 

The  election  came.  Mr.  Buchanan  was  elected, 
and  the  indorsement,  such  as  it  was,  secured. 
That  was  the  second  point  gained.  The  indorse- 
ment, however,  fell  short  of  a  clear  popular  ma- 
jority by  nearly  four  hundred  thousand  votes, 
and  so,  perhaps,  was  not  overwhelmingly  reliable 
and  satisfactory.  The  outgoing  President,  in  his 
last  annual  message,  as  impressively  as  possible 
echoed  back  upon  the  people  the  weight  and  au- 
thority of  the  indorsement.  The  Supreme  Court 
met  again ;  did  not  announce  their  decision,  but 
ordered  a  reargument.  The  presidential  inaugu- 
ration came,  and  still  no  decision  of  the  Court ; 
but  the  incoming  President  in  his  inaugural  ad- 
dress fervently  exhorted  the  people  to  abide  by 
the  forthcoming  decision,  whatever  it  might  be. 
Then,  in  a  few  days,  came  the  decision. 


76  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

The  reputed  author  of  the  Nebraska  Bill  finds 
an  early  occasion  to  make  a  speech  at  this  capi- 
tol,  indorsing  the  Dred  Scott  decision,  and  vehe- 
mently denouncing  all  opposition  to  it.  The 
new  President,  too,  seizes  the  early  occasion  of 
the  Silliman  letter  to  indorse  and  strongly  construe 
that  decision,  and  to  express  his  astonishment 
that  any  different  view  had  ever  been  entertained  ! 

At  length  a  squabble  springs  up  between  the 
President  and  the  author  of  the  Nebraska  Bill,  on 
the  mere  question  of  fact  whether  the  Lecompton 
constitution  was,  or  was  not,  in  any  just  sense, 
made  by  the  people  of  Kansas ;  and  in  that  quar- 
rel, the  latter  declares  that  all  he  wants  is  a  fair 
vote  for  the  people,  and  that  he  cares  not  whether 
slavery  be  voted  down  or  voted  up.  I  do  not 
understand  his  declaration  that  he  cares  not 
whether  slavery  be  voted  down  or  voted  up,  to 
be  intended  by  him  other  than  as  an  apt  definition 
of  the  policy  he  would  impress  upon  the  public 
mind,  —  the  principle  for  which  he  declares  he 
has  suffered  so  much,  and  is  ready  to  suffer  to 
the  end.  And  well  may  he  cling  to  that  prin- 
ciple. If  he  has  any  parental  feeling,  well  may 
he  cling  to  it.  That  principle  is  the  only  shred 
left  of  his  original  Nebraska  doctrine.  Under 
the  Dred  Scott  decision,  "  squatter  sovereignty  " 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  77 

squatted  out  of  existence,  tumbled  down  like 
temporary  scaffolding ;  like  the  mould  at  the 
foundry,  it  served  through  one  blast,  and  fell  back 
into  loose  sand, — helped  to  carry  an  election, 
and  then  was  kicked  to  the  winds.  His  late  joint 
struggle  with  the  Republicans  against  the  Le- 
compton  constitution,  involves  nothing  of  the 
original  Nebraska  doctrine.  That  struggle  was 
made  on  a  point  —  the  right  of  the  people  to 
make  their  own  constitution  —  upon  which  he 
and  the  Republicans  have  never  differed. 

The  several  points  of  the  Dred  Scott  decision 
in  connection  with  Senator  Douglas's  "  care  not" 
policy,  constitute  the  piece  of  machinery  in  its 
present  state  of  advancement.  This  was  the 
third  point  gained.  The  working  points  of  that 
machinery  are  :  — 

First.  That  no  negro  slave,  imported  as  such 
from  Africa,  and  no  descendant  of  such  slave, 
can  ever  be  a  citizen  of  any  State,  in  the  sense  of 
that  term  as  used  in  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States.  This  point  is  made  in  order  to  deprive 
the  negro,  in  every  possible  event,  of  the  benefit 
of  that  provision  of  the  United  States  Constitu- 
tion which  declares  that  "  citizens  of  each  State 
shall  be  entitled  to  all  privileges  and  immunities 
of  citizens  in  the  several  States." 


78  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Secondly.  That  "  subject  to  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States,"  neither  Congress  nor  a  terri- 
torial legislature  can  exclude  slavery  from  any 
United  States  Territory.  This  point  is  made  in 
order  that  individual  men  may  fill  up  the  Terri- 
tories with  slaves,  without  danger  of  losing  them 
as  property,  and  thus  enhance  the  chances  of 
permanency  to  the  institution  through  all  the 
future. 

Thirdly.  That  whether  the  holding  a  negro  in 
actual  slavery  in  a  free  State  makes  him  free  as 
against  the  holder,  the  United  States  Courts  will 
not  decide,  but  will  leave  to  be  decided  by  the 
courts  of  any  slave  State  the  negro  may  be  forced 
into  by  the  master.  This  point  is  made,  not  to 
be  pressed  immediately ;  but  if  acquiesced  in  for  a 
while,  and  apparently  indorsed  by  the  people  at 
an  election,  then  to  sustain  the  logical  conclusion 
that  what  Dred  Scott's  master  might  lawfully  do 
with  Dred  Scott  in  the  free  State  of  Illinois,  every 
other  master  may  lawfully  do,  with  any  other 
one,  or  one  thousand  slaves  in  Illinois,  or  in  any 
other  free  State. 

Auxiliary  to  all  this,  and  working  hand  in  hand 
with  it,  the  Nebraska  doctrine,  or  what  is  left  of 
it,  is  to  educate  and  mould  public  opinion  not  to 
care  whether  slavery  is  voted  down  or  voted  up. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


79 


This  shows  exactly  where  we  now  are,  and  par- 
tially, also,  whither  we  are  tending. 

It  will  throw  additional  light  on  the  latter,  to  go 
back,  and  run  the  mind  over  the  string  of  histor- 
ical facts  already  stated.  Several  things  will  now 
appear  less  dark  and  mysterious  than  they  did 
when  they  were  transpiring.  The  people  were  to 
be  left  "perfectly  free,"  "subject  only  to  the  Con- 
stitution." What  the  Constitution  had  to  do  with 
it,  outsiders  could  not  then  see.  Plainly  enough 
now ;  it  was  an  exactly  fitted  niche  for  the  Dred 
Scott  decision  to  afterwards  come  in,  and  declare 
the  perfect  freedom  of  the  people  to  be  just  no 
freedom  at  all.  Why  was  the  amendment  ex- 
pressly declaring  the  right  of  the  people  voted 
down  ?  Plainly  enough  now :  the  adoption  of 
it  would  have  spoiled  the  niche  for  the  Dred 
Scott  decision.  Why  was  the  Court  decision 
held  up  ?  Why  even  a  Senator's  individual  opin- 
ion withheld  till  after  the  presidential  election? 
Plainly  enough  now :  the  speaking  out  then 
would  have  damaged  the  perfectly  free  argument 
upon  which  the  election  was  to  be  carried.  Why 
the  outgoing  President's  felicitation  on  the  in- 
dorsement? Why  the  delay  of  a  reargument? 
Why  the  incoming  President's  advance  exhorta- 
tion in  favour  of  the  decision?  These  things 


80  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

look  like  the  cautious  patting  and  petting  of  a 
spirited  horse,  preparatory  to  mounting  him, 
when  it  is  dreaded  that  he  may  give  the  rider  a 
fall.  And  why  the  hasty  after-indorsement  of 
the  decision  by  the  President  and  others? 

We  cannot  absolutely  know  that  all  these 
adaptations  are  the  result  of  preconcert.  But 
when  we  see  a  lot  of  framed  timbers,  different 
portions  of  which  we  know  have  been  gotten  out 
at  different  times  and  places,  and  by  different 
workmen  —  Stephen,  Franklin,  Roger,  and  James, 
for  instance  (Douglas,  Pierce,  Taney,  Buchanan), 
—  and  when  we  see  those  timbers  joined  together, 
and  see  they  exactly  make  the  frame  of  a  house 
or  a  mill,  all  the  tenons  and  mortices  exactly  fit- 
ting, and  all  the  lengths  and  proportions  of  the 
different  pieces  exactly  adapted  to  their  respec- 
tive places,  and  not  a  piece  too  many  or  too  few, 
not  omitting  even  scaffolding  —  or  if  a  single 
piece  be  lacking,  we  see  the  place  in  the  frame 
exactly  fitted  and  prepared  yet  to  bring  such 
piece  in,  —  in  such  a  case,  we  find  it  impossible 
not  to  believe  that  Stephen  and  Franklin  and 
Roger  and  James  all  understood  one  another 
from  the  beginning,  and  all  worked  upon  a  com- 
mon plan  or  draft,  drawn  up  before  the  first  blow 
was  struck. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  8l 

It  should  not  be  overlooked  that  by  the  Ne- 
braska Bill  the  people  of  a  State  as  well  as  Terri- 
tory were  to  be  left  "  perfectly  free,"  "  subject 
only  to  the  Constitution."  Why  mention  a  State? 
They  were  legislating  for  Territories,  and  not  for 
or  about  States.  Certainly  the  people  of  a  State 
are  and  ought  to  be  subject  to  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States ;  but  why  is  mention  of  this 
lugged  into  this  merely  territorial  law?  Why 
are  the  people  of  a  Territory  and  the  people  of 
a  State  therein  lumped  together,  and  their  rela- 
tion to  the  Constitution  therein  treated  as  being 
precisely  the  same?  While  the  opinion  of  the 
Court  by  Chief  Justice  Taney,  in  the  Dred  Scott 
case,  and  the  separate  opinions  of  all  the  con- 
curring judges,  expressly  declare  that  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States  neither  permits 
Congress  nor  a  territorial  legislature  to  exclude 
slavery  from  any  United  States  Territory,  they 
all  omit  to  declare  whether  or  not  the  same 
Constitution  permits  a  State  or  the  people  of  a 
State  to  exclude  it.  Possibly  this  is  a  mere  omis- 
sion ;  but  who  can  be  quite  sure  if  McLean 
or  Curtis  had  sought  to  get  into  the  opinion  a 
declaration  of  unlimited  power  in  the  people  of  a 
State  to  exclude  slavery  from  their  limits, — just  as 
Chase  and  Mace  sought  to  get  such  declaration 
6 


82  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

in  behalf  of  the  people  of  a  Territory,  into  the 
Nebraska  Bill,  —  I  ask,  who  can  be  quite  sure  that 
it  would  not  have  been  voted  down  in  the  one 
case  as  it  had  been  in  the  other?  The  nearest 
approach  to  the  point  of  declaring  the  power  of 
a  State  over  slavery  is  made  by  Judge  Nelson. 
He  approaches  it  more  than  once,  using  the 
precise  idea,  and  almost  the  language  too,  of  the 
Nebraska  act.  On  one  occasion  his  exact  lan- 
guage is  "  except  in  cases  where  the  power  is 
restrained  by  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  the  law  of  the  State  is  supreme  over  the 
subject  of  slavery  within  its  jurisdiction."  In 
what  cases  the  power  of  the  State  is  so  restrained 
by  the  United  States  Constitution  is  left  an  open 
question,  precisely  as  the  same  question,  as  to 
the  restraint  on  the  power  of  the  Territories,  was 
left  open  in  the  Nebraska  act.  Put  this  and 
that  together,  and  we  have  another  nice  little 
niche,  which  we  may,  ere  long,  see  filled  with 
another  Supreme  Court  decision,  declaring  that 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  does  not 
permit  a  State  to  exclude  slavery  from  its  limits. 
And  this  may  especially  be  expected  if  the  doc- 
trine of  "  care  not  whether  slavery  be  voted  down 
or  voted  up  "  shall  gain  upon  the  public  mind 
sufficiently  to  give  promise  that  such  a  decision 
can  be  maintained  when  made. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  83 

Such  a  decision  is  all  that  slavery  now  lacks  of 
being  alike  lawful  in  all  the  States.  Welcome  or 
unwelcome,  such  decision  is  probably  coming,  and 
will  soon  be  upon  us,  unless  the  power  of  the 
present  political  dynasty  shall  be  met  and  over- 
thrown. We  shall  lie  down,  pleasantly  dream- 
ing that  the  people  of  Missouri  are  on  the  verge 
of  making  their  State  free,  and  we  shall  awake  to 
the  reality  instead,  that  the  Supreme  Court  has 
made  Illinois  a  slave  State.  To  meet  and  over- 
throw the  power  of  that  dynasty  is  the  work  now 
before  all  those  who  would  prevent  that  consum- 
mation. That  is  what  we  have  to  do.  How  can 
we  best  do  it? 

There  are  those  who  denounce  us  openly  to 
their  own  friends,  and  yet  whisper  to  us  softly 
that  Senator  Douglas  is  the  aptest  instrument 
there  is  with  which  to  effect  that  object.  They 
wish  us  to  infer  all  from  the  fact  that  he  now  has 
a  little  quarrel  with  the  present  head  of  that  dy- 
nasty, and  that  he  has  regularly  voted  with  us  on 
a  single  point,  upon  which  he  and  we  have  never 
differed.  They  remind  us  that  he  is  a  great  man 
and  that  the  largest  of  us  are  very  small  ones. 
Let  this  be  granted.  But  "  a  living  dog  is  better 
than  a  dead  lion."  Judge  Douglas,  if  not  a  dead 
lion,  for  this  work  is  at  least  a  caged  and  toothless 


84  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

one.  How  can  he  oppose  the  advances  of  slavery? 
He  don't  care  anything  about  it.  His  avowed 
mission  is  impressing  the  "  public  heart "  to  care 
nothing  about  it.  A  leading  Douglas  Democratic 
newspaper  thinks  Douglas's  superior  talent  will 
be  needed  to  resist  the  revival  of  the  African 
slave-trade.  Does  Douglas  believe  an  effort  to 
revive  that  trade  is  approaching?  He  has  not 
said  so.  Does  he  really  think  so?  But  if  it  is, 
how  can  he  resist  it?  For  years  he  has  laboured 
to  prove  it  a  sacred  right  of  white  men  to  take 
negro  slaves  into  the  new  territories.  Can  he 
possibly  show  that  it  is  a  less  sacred  right  to  buy 
them  where  they  can  be  bought  cheapest?  And 
unquestionably  they  can  be  bought  cheaper  in 
Africa  than  in  Virginia.  He  has  done  all  in  his 
power  to  reduce  the  whole  question  of  slavery  to 
one  of  a  mere  right  of  property :  and,  as  such, 
how  can  he  oppose  the  foreign  slave-trade?  — 
how  can  he  refuse  that  trade  in  that  property 
shall  be  "perfectly  free,"  unless  he  does  it  as  a 
protection  to  home  production?  And  as  the 
home  producers  will  probably  not  ask  the  pro- 
tection, he  will  be  wholly  without  a  ground  of 
opposition. 

Senator  Douglas  holds,  we  know,  that  a  man 
may  rightfully  be  wiser  to-day  than  he  was  yes- 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  85 

terday  —  that  he  may  rightfully  change  when  he 
finds  himself  wrong.  But  can  we,  for  that  reason, 
run  ahead,  and  infer  that  he  will  make  any  par- 
ticular change,  of  which  he  himself  has  given  no 
intimation  ?  Can  we  safely  base  our  action  upon 
any  such  vague  inference  ? 

Now,  as  ever,  I  wish  not  to  misrepresent  Judge 
Douglas's  position,  question  his  motives,  or  do 
aught  that  can  be  personally  offensive  to  him. 
Whenever,  if  ever,  he  and  we  can  come  together 
on  principle,  so  that  our  cause  may  have  assis- 
tance from  his  great  ability,  I  hope  to  have  inter- 
posed no  adventitious  obstacle.  But,  clearly,  he 
is  not  now  with  us  —  he  does  not  pretend  to  be 
— he  does  not  promise  ever  to  be. 

Our  cause,  then,  must  be  intrusted  to,  and 
conducted  by,  its  own  undoubted  friends  —  those 
whose  hands  are  free,  whose  hearts  are  in  the 
work,  who  do  care  for  the  result.  Two  years  ago 
the  Republicans  of  the  nation  mustered  over  thir- 
teen hundred  thousand  strong.  We  did  this  under 
the  single  impulse  of  resistance  to  a  common  dan- 
ger, with  every  external  circumstance  against  us. 
Of  strange,  discordant,  and  even  hostile  elements, 
we  gathered  from  the  four  winds,  and  formed  and 
fought  the  battle  through,  under  the  constant  hot 
fire  of  a  disciplined,  proud,  and  pampered  enemy. 


86  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Did  we  brave  all  then  to  falter  now  ?  —  now, 
when  that  same  enemy  is  wavering,  dissevered, 
and  belligerent?  The  result  is  not  doubtful. 
We  shall  not  fail.  If  we  stand  firm,  we  shall  not 
fail.  Wise  counsels  may  accelerate  or  mistakes 
delay  it ;  but  sooner  or  later  the  victory  is  sure 
to  come. 


FROM  HIS  SPEECH  AT  CHICAGO,  IN  REPLY  TO  THE 
SPEECH  OF  JUDGE  DOUGLAS,  ON  THE  EVENING 
OF  JULY  9,  1858. 

July  10,  1858. 

NOTE.  —  Twenty  years  after  the  delivery  of 
this  speech  the  following  account  of  it  was  given 
to  me  by  a  conservative  and  distinguished  Dem- 
ocrat. "  I  lived  in  Chicago  at  the  time,"  he 
said,  "  and  I  was  a  Douglas  Democrat.  We 
loved  the  '  Little  Giant '  for  his  courage,  and  we 
had  a  sympathy  for  him,  for  he  seemed  to  be  fight- 
ing half  his  own  party  and  all  the  Republicans. 

"  I  listened  to  Douglas's  speech  on  the  ninth 
of  July.  He  had  a  large  audience,  in  full  sym- 
pathy with  him,  and  he  himself  was  at  his  best. 
When  he  concluded  there  were  many  calls  for 
Lincoln.  He  appeared,  and  quietly  said  that  the 
hour  was  late,  the  audience  weary,  and  to  answer 
Judge  Douglas  one  must  begin  earlier  in  the 
evening.  He  did  not  know  that  he  should  be 
able  to  answer  him,  but  those  who  cared  to  hear 
him  try,  would  come  there  the  next  evening. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  87 

"  I  heard  Mr.  Lincoln's  speech  the  next  even- 
ing, every  word  of  it.  When  I  assure  you  that  it 
convinced  and  converted  a  Douglas  Democrat 
like  myself,  I  have  expressed  not  only  my  own 
opinion,  but  that  of  ten  thousand  others  com- 
prising that  audience.  I  was  satisfied  then  that 
the  '  Little  Giant '  had  met  his  master." 

This  speech  was  generally  considered  by  Re- 
publicans as  second  in  importance  only  to  the 
"  Divided  House  "  speech,  the  principles  of  which 
it  firmly  maintained.  It  was  afterwards  repub- 
lished,  with  others,  under  the  same  cover  as  the 
Douglas  and  Lincoln  Debate,  and  had  a  wide 
circulation.  No  apology  is  deemed  necessary 
for  the  length  of  the  selections  from  it,  —  it  would 
be  published  entire  if  the  portions  here  omitted 
did  not  appear  elsewhere  in  this  volume. 

The  address  commenced  with  a  good-natured 
refutation  of  the  charge  that  an  alliance  to  defeat 
Douglas  existed  between  the  friends  of  Lincoln 
and  the  Buchanan  Democrats.  Then  Mr.  Lin- 
coln went  straight  to  the  Douglas  war-cry  of 
Popular  Sovereignty. 

"...  Popular  sovereignty  !  everlasting  pop- 
ular sovereignty  !  Let  us  for  a  moment  inquire 
into  this  vast  matter  of  popular  sovereignty. 
What  is  popular  sovereignty?  We  recollect  that 
at  an  early  period  in  the  history  of  this  struggle, 
there  was  another  name  for  the  same  thing, — 
squatter  sovereignty.  It  was  not  exactly  popular 


88  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

sovereignty,  but  squatter  sovereignty.  What  do 
these  terms  mean?  What  do  those  terms  mean 
when  used  now?  And  vast  credit  is  taken  by 
our  friend,  the  Judge,  in  regard  to  his  support  of 
it,  when  he  declares  the  last  years  of  his  life  have 
been,  and  all  the  future  years  of  his  life  shall  be, 
devoted  to  this  matter  of  popular  sovereignty. 
What  is  it  ?  Why,  it  is  the  sovereignty  of  the  peo- 
ple !  What  was  squatter  sovereignty  ?  I  suppose, 
if  it  had  any  signification  at  all,  it  was  the  right 
of  the  people  to  govern  themselves,  to  be  sover- 
eign in  their  own  affairs,  while  they  were  squatted 
down  in  a  country  not  their  own,  —  while  they  had 
squatted  on  a  territory  that  did  not  belong  to 
them,  in  the  sense  that  a  State  belongs  to  the 
people  who  inhabit  it,  —  when  it  belonged  to  the 
nation;  such  right  to  govern  themselves  was 
called  'squatter  sovereignty.' 

"  Now,  I  wish  you  to  mark,  What  has  become 
of  that  squatter  sovereignty  ?  What  has  become 
of  it  ?  Can  you  get  anybody  to  tell  you  now  that 
the  people  of  a  Territory  have  any  authority  to  gov- 
ern themselves,  in  regard  to  this  mooted  question 
of  slavery,  before  they  form  a  State  constitution  ? 
No  such  thing  at  all,  although  there  is  a  general 
running  fire,  and  although  there  has  been  a  hurrah 
made  in  every  speech  on  that  side,  assuming  that 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  89 

policy  had  given  to  the  people  of  a  Territory  the 
right  to  govern  themselves  upon  this  question; 
yet  the  point  is  dodged.  To-day  it  has  been  de- 
cided —  no  more  than  a  year  ago  it  was  decided 
by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  and 
is  insisted  upon  to-day  —  that  the  people  of  a 
Territory  have  no  right  to  exclude  slavery  from 
a  Territory ;  that  if  any  one  man  chooses  to  take 
slaves  into  a  Territory,  all  the  rest  of  the  people 
have  no  right  to  keep  them  out.  This  being  so, 
and  this  decision  being  made,  one  of  the  points 
that  the  Judge  approved,  and  one  in  the  approval 
of  which  he  says  he  means  to  keep  me  down,  — 
put  me  down  I  should  not  say,  for  I  have  never 
been  up  !  He  says  he  is  in  favour  of  it,  and 
sticks  to  it,  and  expects  to  win  his  battle  on  that 
decision,  which  says  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as 
squatter  sovereignty,  but  that  any  one  man  may 
take  slaves  into  a  Territory,  and  all  the  other 
men  in  the  Territory  may  be  opposed  to  it,  and 
yet  by  reason  of  the  Constitution  they  cannot 
prohibit  it.  When  that  is  so,  how  much  is  left  of 
this  vast  matter  of  squatter  sovereignty,  I  should 
like  to  know? 

"  When  we  get  back,  we  get  to  the  point  of  the 
right  of  the  people  to  make  a  constitution.  Kan- 
sas was  settled,  for  example,  in  1854.  It  was  a 


cp  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Territory  yet,  without  having  formed  a  constitu- 
tion, in  a  very  regular  way,  for  three  years.  All 
this  time  negro  slavery  could  be  taken  in  by  any 
few  individuals,  and  by  that  decision  of  the  Su- 
preme Court,  which  the  Judge  approves,  all  the 
rest  of  the  people  cannot  keep  it  out ;  but  when 
they  come  to  make  a  constitution  they  may  say 
they  will  not  have  slavery.  But  it  is  there  ;  they 
are  obliged  to  tolerate  it  in  some  way,  and  all  ex- 
perience shows  it  will  be  so,  —  for  they  will  not 
take  the  negro  slaves  and  absolutely  deprive  the 
owners  of  them.  All  experience  shows  this  to 
be  so.  All  that  space  of  time  that  runs  from  the 
beginning  of  the  settlement  of  the  Territory  until 
there  is  a  sufficiency  of  people  to  make  a  State 
constitution,  —  all  that  portion  of  time  popular 
sovereignty  is  given  up.  The  seal  is  absolutely 
put  down  upon  it  by  the  court  decision,  and 
Judge  Douglas  puts  his  own  upon  the  top  of  that ; 
yet  he  is  appealing  to  the  people  to  give  him 
vast  credit  for  his  devotion  to  popular  sovereignty. 
"  Again,  when  we  get  to  the  question  of  the 
right  of  the  people  to  form  a  State  constitution 
as  they  please,  to  form  it  with  slavery  or  without 
slavery,  —  if  that  is  anything  new  I  confess  I 
don't  know  it.  Has  there  ever  been  a  time  when 
anybody  said  that  any  other  than  the  people  of 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  91 

a  Territory  itself  should  form  a  constitution? 
What  is  now  in  it  that  Judge  Douglas  should  have 
fought  several  years  of  his  life,  and  pledge  him- 
self to  fight  all  the  remaining  years  of  his  life  for  ? 
Can  Judge  Douglas  find  anybody  on  earth  that 
said  that  anybody  else  should  form  a  constitution 
for  a  people?  ...  It  is  enough  for  my  pur- 
pose to  ask,  whenever  a  Republican  said  any- 
thing against  it?  They  never  said  anything 
against  it,  but  they  have  constantly  spoken  for 
it ;  and  whosoever  will  undertake  to  examine 
the  platform  and  the  speeches  of  responsible 
men  of  the  party,  and  of  irresponsible  men,  too, 
if  you  please,  will  be  unable  to  find  one  word 
from  anybody  in  the  Republican  ranks  opposed 
to  that  popular  sovereignty  which  Judge  Douglas 
thinks  he  has  invented.  I  suppose  that  Judge 
Douglas  will  claim  in  a  little  while  that  he  is  the 
inventor  of  the  idea  that  the  people  should  gov- 
ern themselves ;  that  nobody  ever  thought  of 
such  a  thing  until  he  brought  it  forward.  We  do 
not  remember  that  in  that  old  Declaration  of 
Independence  it  is  said  that  'We  hold  these  truths 
to  be  self-evident,  that  all  men  are  created  equal ; 
that  they  are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with 
certain  inalienable  rights ;  that  among  these  are 
life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness ;  that  to 


92 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


secure  these  rights,  governments  are  instituted 
among  men,  deriving  their  just  powers  from  the 
consent  of  the  governed.'  There  is  the  origin  of 
popular  sovereignty.  Who,  then,  shall  come  in 
at  this  day  and  claim  that  he  invented  it? 

"The  Lecompton  constitution  connects  itself 
with  this  question,  for  it  is  in  this  matter  of  the 
Lecompton  constitution  that  our  friend  Judge 
Douglas  claims  such  vast  credit.  I  agree  that  in 
opposing  the  Lecompton  constitution,  so  far  as 
I  can  perceive,  he  was  right.  I  do  not  deny  that 
at  all ;  and,  gentlemen,  you  will  readily  see  why 
I  could  not  deny  it,  even  if  I  wanted  to.  But  I 
do  not  wish  to,  for  all  the  Republicans  in  the 
nation  opposed  it,  and  they  would  have  opposed 
it  just  as  much  without  Judge  Douglas's  aid  as 
with  it.  They  had  all  taken  ground  against  it 
long  before  he  did.  Why,  the  reason  that  he 
urges  against  that  constitution  I  urged  against 
him  a  year  before.  I  have  the  printed  speech  in 
my  hand.  The  argument  that  he  makes  why 
that  constitution  should  not  be  adopted,  that  the 
people  were  not  fairly  represented  nor  allowed  to 
vote,  I  pointed  out  in  a  speech  a  year  ago,  which 
I  hold  in  my  hand  now,  that  no  fair  chance  was 
to  be  given  to  the  people.  .  .  . 

"  A  little  more  now  as  to  this  matter  of  popu- 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


93 


lar  sovereignty  and  the  Lecompton  constitution. 
The  Lecompton  constitution,  as  the  Judge  tells 
us,  was  defeated.  The  defeat  of  it  was  a  good 
thing,  or  it  was  not.  He  thinks  the  defeat  of  it 
was  a  good  thing,  and  so  do  I ;  and  we  agree  in 
that.  Who  defeated  it  ?  [A  voice,  "  Judge  Doug- 
las."] Yes,  he  furnished  himself;  and  if  you 
suppose  he  controlled  the  other  Democrats  that 
went  with  him,  he  furnished  three  votes,  while 
the  Republicans  furnished  twenty. 

"  That  is  what  he  did  to  defeat  it.  In  the 
House  of  Representatives  he  and  his  friends  fur- 
nished some  twenty  votes,  and  the  Republicans 
furnished  ninety  odd.  Now,  who  was  it  that  did 
the  work?  [A  voice,  "Douglas."]  Why,  yes, 
Douglas  did  it  ?  To  be  sure  he  did  ! 

"  Let  us,  however,  put  that  proposition  another 
way.  The  Republicans  could  not  have  done  it 
without  Judge  Douglas.  Could  he  have  done  it 
without  them?  Which  could  have  come  the 
nearest  to  doing  it  without  the  other?  Ground 
was  taken  against  it  by  the  Republicans  long  be- 
fore Douglas  did  it.  The  proposition  of  oppo- 
sition to  that  measure  is  about  five  to  one.  [A 
voice,  "  Why  don't  they  come  out  on  it?  "~|  You 
don't  know  what  you  are  talking  about,  my 
friend ;  I  am  quite  willing  to  answer  any  gen- 


94 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


tie  man  in  the  crowd  who  asks  an  intelligent 
question. 

"  Now,  who  in  all  this  country  has  ever  found 
any  of  our  friends  of  Judge  Douglas's  way  of 
thinking,  and  who  have  acted  upon  this  main 
question,  that  have  ever  thought  of  uttering  a 
word  in  behalf  of  Judge  Trumbull  ?  I  defy  you 
to  show  a  printed  resolution  passed  in  a  Demo- 
cratic meeting.  I  take  it  upon  myself  to  defy 
any  man  to  show  a  printed  resolution,  large  or 
small,  of  a  Democratic  meeting  in  favour  of  Judge 
Trumbull,  or  any  of  the  five  to  one  Republicans 
who  beat  that  bill.  Everything  must  be  for  the 
Democrats  !  They  did  everything,  and  the  five  to 
the  one  that  really  did  the  thing,  they  snub  over, 
and  they  do  not  seem  to  remember  that  they 
have  an  existence  upon  the  face  of  the  earth. 

"  Gentlemen,  I  fear  that  I  shall  become  te- 
dious. I  leave  this  branch  of  the  subject  to  take 
hold  of  another.  I  take  up  that  part  of  Judge 
Douglas's  speech  in  which  he  respectfully  at- 
tended to  me. 

"Judge  Douglas  made  two  points  upon  my 
recent  speech  at  Springfield.  He  says  they  are 
to  be  the  issues  of  this  campaign.  The  first  one 
of  these  points  he  bases  upon  the  language  in  a 
speech  which  I  delivered  at  Springfield,  which  I 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


95 


believe  I  can  quote  correctly  from  memory.  I 
said  that  '  we  are  now  far  into  the  fifth  year  since 
a  policy  was  instituted  for  the  avowed  object  and 
with  the  confident  promise  of  putting  an  end  to 
slavery  agitation ;  under  the  operation  of  that 
policy,  that  agitation  has  not  only  not  ceased,  but 
has  constantly  augmented.  I  believe  it  will  not 
cease  until  a  crisis  shall  have  been  reached  and 
passed.  "  A  house  divided  against  itself  cannot 
stand."  I  believe  this  government  cannot  endure 
permanently  half  slave  and  half  free.  I  do  not 
expect  the  Union  to  be  dissolved,'  —  I  am  quot- 
ing from  my  speech,  —  'I  do  not  expect  the 
house  to  fall,  but  I  do  expect  it  will  cease  to  be 
divided.  It  will  become  all  one  thing  or  all  the 
other.  Either  the  opponents  of  slavery  will  ar- 
rest the  further  spread  of  it,  and  place  it  where 
the  public  mind  shall  rest  in  the  belief  that  it  is 
in  the  course  of  ultimate  extinction,  or  its  advo- 
cates will  push  it  forward  until  it  shall  become 
alike  lawful  in  all  the  States,  old  as  well  as  new ; 
North  as  well  as  South.' 

"  That  is  the  paragraph  !  In  this  paragraph 
which  I  have  quoted  in  your  hearing,  and  to 
which  I  ask  the  attention  of  all,  Judge  Douglas 
thinks  he  discovers  great  political  heresy.  I  want 
your  attention  particularly  to  what  he  has  inferred 


96  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

from  it.  He  says  I  am  in  favour  of  making  all 
the  States  of  this  Union  uniform  in  all  their  inter- 
nal regulations ;  that  in  all  their  domestic  concerns 
I  am  in  favour  of  making  them  entirely  uniform. 
He  draws  this  inference  from  the  language  I 
have  quoted  to  you.  He  says  that  I  am  in  fa- 
vour of  making  war  by  the  North  upon  the  South 
for  the  extinction  of  slavery ;  that  I  am  also  in 
favour  of  inviting  (as  he  expresses  it)  the  South 
to  a  war  upon  the  North  for  the  purpose  of  na- 
tionalising slavery.  Now,  it  is  singular  enough, 
if  you  will  carefully  read  that  passage  over,  that  I 
did  not  say  that  I  was  in  favour  of  anything  in  it. 
I  only  said  what  I  expected  would  take  place. 
I  made  a  prediction  only,  —  it  may  have  been  a 
foolish  one,  perhaps.  I  did  not  even  say  that 
I  desired  that  slavery  should  be  put  in  course  of 
ultimate  extinction.  I  do  say  so  now,  however ;  so 
there  need  be  no  longer  any  difficulty  about  that. 
It  may  be  written  down  in  the  great  speech. 

"  Gentlemen,  Judge  Douglas  informed  you  that 
this  speech  of  mine  was  probably  carefully  pre- 
pared. I  admit  that  it  was.  I  am  not  master  of 
language ;  I  have  not  a  fine  education ;  I  am 
not  capable  of  entering  into  a  disquisition  upon 
dialectics,  as  I  believe  you  call  it ;  but  I  do  not 
believe  the  language  I  employed  bears  any  such 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


97 


construction  as  Judge  Douglas  puts  upon  it. 
But  I  don't  care  about  a  quibble  in  regard  to  words. 
I  know  what  I  meant,  and  I  will  not  leave  this 
crowd  in  doubt,  if  I  can  explain  it  to  them,  what 
I  really  meant  in  the  use  of  that  paragraph. 

"  I  am  not,  in  the  first  place,  unaware  that  this 
government  has  endured  eighty-two  years,  half 
slave  and  half  free.  I  know  that.  I  am  tolerably 
well  acquainted  with  the  history  of  the  country, 
and  I  know  that  it  has  endured  eighty-two  years, 
half  slave  and  half  free.  I  believe  —  and  that  is 
what  I  meant  to  allude  to  there  —  I  believe  it  has 
endured,  because,  during  all  that  time,  until  the  in- 
troduction of  the  Nebraska  Bill,  the  public  mind 
did  rest  all  the  time  in  the  belief  that  slavery  was 
in  course  of  ultimate  extinction.  That  was  what 
gave  us  the  rest  that  we  had  through  that  period 
of  eighty-two  years ;  at  least,  so  I  believe.  I  have 
always  hated  slavery,  I  think,  as  much  as  any 
Abolitionist,  —  I  have  been  an  old-line  Whig,  — 
I  have  always  hated  it,  but  I  have  always  been 
quiet  about  it  until  this  new  era  of  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  Nebraska  Bill  began.  I  always  be- 
lieved that  everybody  was  against  it,  and  that  it 
was  in  course  of  ultimate  extinction.  .  .  .  They 
had  reason  so  to  believe. 

"  The  adoption  of  the  Constitution  and  its  at- 
7 


gS  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

tendant  history  led  the  people  to  believe  so,  and 
that  such  was  the  belief  of  the  framers  of  the 
Constitution  itself.  Why  did  those  old  men, 
about  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, decree  that  slavery  should  not  go  into  the 
new  Territory  where  it  had  not  already  gone? 
Why  declare  that  within  twenty  years  the  African 
slave-trade,  by  which  slaves  are  supplied,  might 
be  cut  off  by  Congress?  Why  were  all  these 
acts?  I  might  enumerate  more  of  these  acts; 
but  enough.  What  were  they  but  a  clear  indica- 
tion that  the  framers  of  the  Constitution  intended 
and  expected  the  ultimate  extinction  of  that  in- 
stitution ?  And  now  when  I  say,  —  as  I  said  in 
my  speech  that  Judge  Douglas  has  quoted  from, 
—  when  I  say  that  I  think  the  opponents  of 
slavery  will  resist  the  further  spread  of  it,  and 
place  it  where  the  public  mind  shall  rest  in  the 
belief  that  it  is  in  the  course  of  ultimate  ex- 
tinction, I  only  mean  to  say  that  they  will  place 
it  where  the  founders  of  this  government  origi- 
nally placed  it. 

"  I  have  said  a  hundred  times,  and  I  have  now 
no  inclination  to  take  it  back,  that  I  believe  there 
is  no  right,  and  ought  to  be  no  inclination  in  the 
people  of  the  free  States,  to  enter  into  the  slave 
States  and  interfere  with  the  question  of  slavery 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


99 


at  all.  .  .  .  And  when  it  is  said  that  I  am  in 
favour  of  interfering  with  slavery  where  it  exists, 
I  know  it  is  unwarranted  by  anything  I  have  ever 
intended,  and,  as  I  believe,  by  anything  I  have 
ever  said.  If  by  any  means  I  have  ever  used 
language  which  could  fairly  be  so  construed  (as, 
however,  I  believe  I  never  have),  I  now  cor- 
rect it.  ... 

"  Now,  in  relation  to  his  inference  that  I  am  in 
favour  of  a  general  consolidation  of  all  the  local 
institutions  of  the  various  States.  ...  I  have 
said  very  many  times  in  Judge  Douglas's  hearing 
that  no  man  believed  more  than  I  in  the  prin- 
ciple of  self-government ;  that  it  lies  at  the  bottom 
of  all  my  ideas  of  just  government  from  beginning 
to  end.  ...  I  deny  that  any  man  has  ever  gone 
ahead  of  me  in  his  devotion  to  the  principle, 
whatever  he  may  have  done  in  efficiency  in  ad- 
vocating it.  I  think  that  I  have  said  it  in  your 
hearing,  that  I  believe  each  individual  is  naturally 
entitled  to  do  as  he  pleases  with  himself  and  the 
fruit  of  his  labour,  so  far  as  it  in  no  wise  interferes 
with  any  other  man's  rights ;  that  each  com- 
munity, as  a  State,  has  a  right  to  do  exactly  as  it 
pleases  with  all  the  concerns  within  that  State 
that  interfere  with  the  right  of  no  other  State; 
and  that  the  general  government  upon  principle 


100  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

has  no  right  to  interfere  with  anything  other  than 
that  general  class  of  things  that  does  concern  the 
whole.  I  have  said  that  at  all  times ;  I  have 
said  as  illustrations  that  I  do  not  believe  in  the 
right  of  Illinois  to  interfere  with  the  cranberry 
laws  of  Indiana,  the  oyster  laws  of  Virginia,  or 
the  liquor  laws  of  Maine. 

"How  is  it,  then,  that  Judge  Douglas  infers, 
because  I  hope  to  see  slavery  put  where  the  pub- 
lic mind  shall  rest  in  the  belief  that  it  is  in  the 
course  of  ultimate  extinction,  that  I  am  in  favour 
of  Illinois  going  over  and  interfering  with  the 
cranberry  laws  of  Indiana?  What  can  authorise 
him  to  draw  any  such  inference?  I  suppose 
there  might  be  one  thing  that  at  least  enabled 
him  to  draw  such  an  inference,  that  would  not 
be  true  with  me  or  many  others ;  that  is,  be- 
cause he  looks  upon  all  this  matter  of  slavery 
as  an  exceedingly  little  thing,  —  this  matter  of 
keeping  one-sixth  of  the  population  of  the  whole 
nation  in  a  state  of  oppression  and  tyranny  un- 
equalled in  the  world.  He  looks  upon  it  as 
being  an  exceedingly  little  thing,  only  equal  to 
the  question  of  the  cranberry  laws  of  Indiana ; 
as  something  having  no  moral  question  in  it ;  as 
something  on  a  par  with  the  question  of  whether 
a  man  shall  pasture  his  land  with  cattle  or  plant  it 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  IOi 

with  tobacco ;  so  little  and  so  small  a  thing  that 
he  concludes,  if  I  could  desire  that  anything 
should  be  done  to  bring  about  the  ultimate  ex- 
tinction of  that  little  thing,  I  must  be  in  favour 
of  bringing  about  an  amalgamation  of  all  the 
other  little  things  in  the  Union.  Now,  it  so  hap- 
pens —  and  there,  I  presume,  is  the  foundation 
of  this  mistake  —  that  the  Judge  thinks  thus ;  and 
it  so  happens  that  there  is  a  vast  portion  of  the 
American  people  that  do  not  look  upon  that  mat- 
ter as  being  this  very  little  thing.  They  look  upon 
it  as  a  vast  moral  evil ;  they  can  prove  it  as  such 
by  the  writings  of  those  who  gave  us  the  blessings 
of  liberty  which  we  enjoy,  and  that  they  so  looked 
upon  it,  and  not  as  an  evil  merely  confining 
itself  to  the  States  where  it  is  situated ;  and  while 
we  agree  that  by  the  Constitution  we  assented  to, 
in  the  States  where  it  exists  we  have  no  right  to 
interfere  with  it,  because  it  is  in  the  Constitution, 
we  are  both  by  duty  and  inclination  to  stick  by 
that  Constitution  in  all  its  letter  and  spirit  from 
beginning  to  end. 

"  So  much,  then,  as  to  my  disposition,  my  wish, 
to  have  all  the  State  legislatures  blotted  out  and 
to  have  one  consolidated  government  and  a  uni- 
formity of  domestic  regulations  in  all  the  States ; 
by  which  I  suppose  it  is  meant,  if  we  raise  corn 


102  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

here  we  must  make  sugar-cane  grow  here  too, 
and  we  must  make  those  things  which  grow  North 
grow  in  the  South.  All  this  I  suppose  he  under- 
stands I  am  in  favour  of  doing.  Now,  so  much 
for  all  this  nonsense  —  for  I  must  call  it  so. 
The  Judge  can  have  no  issue  with  me  on  a  ques- 
tion of  establishing  uniformity  in  the  domestic 
regulations  of  the  States. 

"  A  little  now  on  the  other  point,  —  the  Dred 
Scott  decision.  Another  of  the  issues,  he  says, 
that  is  to  be  made  with  me  is  upon  his  devotion 
to  the  Dred  Scott  decision  and  my  opposition 
to  it. 

"  I  have  expressed  heretofore,  and  I  now  re- 
peat, my  opposition  to  the  Dred  Scott  decision ; 
but  I  should  be  allowed  to  state  the  nature  of 
that  opposition,  and  I  ask  your  indulgence  while 
I  do  so.  What  is  fairly  implied  by  the  term 
Judge  Douglas  has  used,  '  resistance  to  the  de- 
cision '  ?  I  do  not  resist  it.  If  I  wanted  to  take 
Dred  Scott  from  his  master  I  would  be  interfering 
with  property,  and  that  terrible  difficulty  that 
Judge  Douglas  speaks  of,  of  interfering  with  prop- 
erty, would  arise.  But  I  am  doing  no  such  thing 
as  that ;  all  that  I  am  doing  is  refusing  to  obey  it 
as  a  political  rule.  If  I  were  in  Congress,  and  a 
vote  should  come  up  on  a  question  whether  slavery 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


103 


should  be  prohibited  in  a  new  Territory,  in  spite 
of  the  Dred  Scott  decision,  I  would  vote  that  it 
should. 

"That  is  what  I  would  do.  Judge  Douglas 
said  last  night  that  before  the  decision  he  might 
advance  his  opinion,  and  it  might  be  contrary  to 
the  decision  when  it  was  made ;  but  after  it  was 
made  he  would  abide  by  it  until  it  was  reversed. 
Just  so  !  We  let  this  property  abide  by  the  de- 
cision, but  we  will  try  to  reverse  that  decision. 
We  will  try  to  put  it  where  Judge  Douglas  would 
not  object,  for  he  says  he  will  obey  it  until  it  is 
reversed.  Somebody  has  to  reverse  that  decision, 
since  it  is  made ;  and  we  mean  to  reverse  it,  and 
we  mean  to  do  it  peaceably. 

"  What  are  the  uses  of  decisions  of  courts  ? 
They  have  two  uses.  First,  they  decide  upon  the 
question  before  the  court.  They  decide  in  this 
case  that  Dred  Scott  is  a  slave.  Nobody  resists 
that.  Not  only  that,  but  they  say  to  everybody 
else  that  persons  standing  just  as  Dred  Scott 
stands  are  as  he  is.  That  is,  they  say  that  when 
a  question  comes  up  upon  another  person  it  will 
be  so  decided  again,  unless  the  court  decides 
another  way,  unless  the  court  overrules  its  de- 
cision. Well,  we  mean  to  do  what  we  can  to 
have  the  court  decide  the  other  way.  That  is 
one  thing  we  mean  to  try  to  do. 


IO4 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


"The  sacredness  that  Judge  Douglas  throws 
around  this  decision  is  a  degree  of  sacredness 
that  has  never  been  before  thrown  around  any 
other  decision.  I  have  never  heard  of  such  a 
thing.  Why,  decisions  apparently  contrary  to 
that  decision,  or  that  good  lawyers  thought  were 
contrary  to  that  decision,  have  been  made  by  that 
very  court  before.  It  is  the  first  of  its  kind  ;  it  is 
an  astonisher  in  legal  history ;  it  is  a  new  wonder 
of  the  world ;  it  is  based  upon  falsehood  in  the 
main  as  to  the  facts,  —  allegations  of  facts  upon 
which  it  stands  are  not  facts  at  all  in  many  in- 
stances,—  and  no  decision  made  on  any  question 
—  the  first  instance  of  a  decision  made  under  so 
many  unfavourable  circumstances  —  thus  placed, 
has  ever  been  held  by  the  profession  as  law,  and 
it  has  always  needed  confirmation  before  the  law- 
yers regarded  it  as  settled  law ;  but  Judge  Doug- 
las will  have  it  that  all  hands  must  take  this 
extraordinary  decision  made  under  these  extraor- 
dinary circumstances  and  give  their  vote  in 
Congress  in  accordance  with  it,  yield  to  it,  and 
obey  it  in  every  possible  sense.  Circumstances 
alter  cases.  Do  not  gentlemen  here  remember 
the  case  of  that  same  Supreme  Court  some 
twenty-five  or  thirty  years  ago,  deciding  that  a 
national  bank  was  constitutional?  I  ask  if  some- 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  105 

body  does  not  remember  that  a  national  bank 
was  declared  to  be  constitutional?  Such  is  the 
truth,  whether  it  be  remembered  or  not.  The 
bank  charter  ran  out,  and  a  re-charter  was  granted 
by  Congress.  That  re-charter  was  laid  before 
General  Jackson.  It  was  urged  upon  him,  when 
he  denied  the  constitutionality  of  the  bank,  that 
the  Supreme  Court  had  decided  that  it  was  con- 
stitutional ;  and  General  Jackson  then  said  that 
the  Supreme  Court  had  no  right  to  lay  down  a 
rule  to  govern  a  co-ordinate  branch  of  the  gov- 
ernment, the  members  of  which  had  sworn  to 
support  the  Constitution,  —  that  each  member 
had  sworn  to  support  the  Constitution  as  he  un- 
derstood it.  I  will  venture  here  to  say  that  I 
have  heard  Judge  Douglas  say  that  he  approved 
of  General  Jackson  for  that  act.  What  has  now 
become  of  all  his  tirade*  against  '  resistance  to  the 
Supreme  Court '  ? 

"My  fellow-citizens,  getting  back  a  little,  —  for 
I  pass  from  these  points, — when  Judge  Douglas 
makes  his  threat  of  annihilation  upon  the  '  al- 
liance,' he  is  cautious  to  say  that  that  warfare  of 
his  is  to  fall  upon  the  leaders  of  the  Republican 
party.  Almost  every  word  he  utters  and  every 
distinction  he  makes  has  its  significance.  He 
means  for  the  Republicans  who  do  not  count 


106  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

themselves  as  leaders  to  be  his  friends ;  he  makes 
no  fuss  over  them,  it  is  the  leaders  that  he  is 
making  war  upon.  He  wants  it  understood  that 
the  mass  of  the  Republican  party  are  really  his 
friends.  It  is  only  the  leaders  that  are  doing 
something,  that  are  intolerant,  and  require  exter- 
mination at  his  hands.  As  this  is  clearly  and 
unquestionably  the  light  in  which  he  presents 
that  matter,  I  want  to  ask  your  attention,  ad- 
dressing myself  to  Republicans  here,  that  I  may 
ask  you  some  questions  as  to  where  you,  as  the 
Republican  party,  would  be  placed  if  you  sus- 
tained Judge  Douglas  in  his  present  position  by  a 
re-election?  I  do  not  claim,  gentlemen,  to  be 
unselfish ;  I  do  not  pretend  that  I  would  not  like 
to  go  to  the  United  States  Senate,  —  I  make  no 
such  hypocritical  pretence ;  but  I  do  say  to  you, 
that  in  this  mighty  issue  it  is  nothing  to  you, 
nothing  to  the  mass  of  the  people  of  the  nation, 
whether  or  not  Judge  Douglas  or  myself  shall 
ever  be  heard  of  after  this  night.  It  may  be  a  trifle 
to  either  of  us ;  but  in  connection  with  this  mighty 
question,  upon  which  hang  the  destinies  of  the 
nation,  perhaps,  it  is  absolutely  nothing.  But 
where  will  you  be  placed  if  you  reindorse  Judge 
Douglas?  Don't  you  know  how  apt  he  is,  how 
exceedingly  anxious  he  is,  at  all  times  to  seize 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


107 


upon  anything  and  everything  to  persuade  you 
that  something  he  has  done  you  did  yourselves? 
Why,  he  tried  to  persuade  you  last  night  that  our 
Illinois  Legislature  instructed  him  to  introduce 
the  Nebraska  Bill.  There  was  nobody  in  that 
Legislature  ever  thought  of  it ;  but  still  he  fights 
furiously  for  the  proposition ;  and  that  he  did  it 
because  there  was  a  standing  instruction  to  our 
senators  to  be  always  introducing  Nebraska  bills. 
He  tells  you  he  is  for  the  Cincinnati  platform ; 
he  tells  you  he  is  for  the  Dred  Scott  decision; 
he  tells  you  —  not  in  his  speech  last  night,  but 
substantially  in  a  former  speech  —  that  he  cares 
not  if  slavery  is  voted  up  or  down ;  he  tells  you 
the  struggle  on  Lecompton  is  past,  —  it  may  come 
up  again  or  not,  and  if  it  does,  he  stands  where 
he  stood  when,  in  spite  of  him  and  his  oppo- 
sition, you  built  up  the  Republican  party.  If 
you  indorse  him,  you  tell  him  you  do  not  care 
whether  slavery  be  voted  up  or  down,  and  he 
will  close,  or  try  to  close,  your  mouths  with  his 
declaration,  repeated  by  the  day,  the  week,  the 
month,  and  the  year.  I  think,  in  the  position 
in  which  Judge  Douglas  stood  in  opposing  the 
Lecompton  constitution,  he  was  right ;  he  does 
not  know  that  it  will  return,  but  if  it  does  we  may 
know  where  to  find  him ;  and  if  it  does  not,  we 


I08  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

may  know  where  to  look  for  him,  and  that  is 
on  the  Cincinnati  platform.  Now,  I  could  ask 
the  Republican  party,  after  all  the  hard  names 
Judge  Douglas  has  called  them  by,  ...  all  his 
declarations  of  Black  Republicanism — (by  the 
way,  we  are  improving,  the  black  has  got  rubbed 
off),  but  with  all  that,  if  he  be  indorsed  by  Repub- 
lican votes,  where  do  you  stand?  Plainly,  you 
stand  ready  saddled,  bridled,  and  harnessed,  and 
waiting  to  be  driven  over  to  the  slavery- extension 
camp  of  the  nation,  —  just  ready  to  be  driven 
over,  tied  together  in  a  lot,  —  to  be  driven  over, 
every  man  with  a  rope  around  his  neck,  that 
halter  being  held  by  Judge  Douglas.  That  is  the 
question.  If  Republican  men  have  been  in  ear- 
nest in  what  they  have  done,  I  think  they  had 
better  not  do  it ;  but  I  think  the  Republican  party 
is  made  up  of  those  who,  as  far  as  they  can  peace- 
ably, will  oppose  the  extension  of  slavery,  and 
who  will  hope  for  its  ultimate  extinction.  If  they 
believe  it  is  wrong  in  grasping  up  the  new  lands 
of  the  continent,  and  keeping  them  from  the 
settlement  of  free  white  labourers,  who  want  the 
land  to  bring  up  their  families  upon ;  if  they  are 
in  earnest,  —  although  they  may  make  a  mistake, 
they  will  grow  restless,  and  the  time  will  come 
when  they  will  come  back  again  and  reorganise, 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


109 


if  not  by  the  same  name,  at  least  upon  the  same 
principles  as  their  party  now  has.  It  is  better, 
then,  to  save  the  work  while  it  is  begun.  You 
have  done  the  labour ;  maintain  it,  keep  it.  If 
men  choose  to  serve  you,  go  with  them ;  but  as 
you  have  made  up  your  organisation  upon  prin- 
ciple, stand  by  it ;  for,  as  surely  as  God  reigns 
over  you,  and  has  inspired  your  minds  and  given 
you  a  sense  of  propriety  and  continues  to  give 
you  hope,  so  surely  will  you  still  cling  to  these 
ideas,  and  you  will  at  last  come  back  again  after 
your  wanderings,  merely  to  do  your  work  over 
again. 

"  We  were  often,  —  more  than  once,  at  least, 
—  in  the  course  of  Judge  Douglas's  speech  last 
night,  reminded  that  this  government  was  made 
for  white  men,  —  that  he  believed  it  was  made  for 
white  men.  Well,  that  is  putting  it  into  a  shape 
in  which  no  one  wants  to  deny  it ;  but  the  Judge 
then  goes  into  his  passion  for  drawing  inferences 
that  are  not  warranted.  I  protest,  now  and  for 
ever,  against  that  counterfeit  logic  which  pre- 
sumes that,  because  I  do  not  want  a  negro 
woman  for  a  slave,  I  do  necessarily  want  her  for  a 
wife.  My  understanding  is,  that  I  need  not  have 
her  for  either ;  but,  as  God  made  us  separate,  we 
can  leave  one  another  alone,  and  do  one  another 


1 10  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

much  good  thereby.  There  are  white  men 
enough  to  marry  all  the  white  women,  and  enough 
black  men  to  marry  all  the  black  women ;  and  in 
God's  name  let  them  be  so  married.  The  Judge 
regales  us  with  the  terrible  enormities  that  take 
place  by  the  mixture  of  races ;  that  the  inferior 
race  bears  the  superior  down.  Why,  Judge,  il 
we  do  not  let  them  get  together  in  the  Terri- 
tories, they  won't  mix  there.  I  should  say  at 
least  that  that  was  a  self-evident  truth. 

"  Now,  it  happens  that  we  meet  together  once 
every  year,  somewhere  about  the  4th  of  July,  for 
some  reason  or  other.  These  4th  of  July  gather- 
ings, I  suppose,  have  their  uses.  If  you  will 
indulge  me,  I  will  state  what  I  suppose  to  be 
some  of  them. 

"We  are  now  a  mighty  nation  :  we  are  thirty,  or 
about  thirty,  millions  of  people,  and  we  own  and 
inhabit  about  one-fifteenth  part  of  the  dry  land 
of  the  whole  earth.  We  run  our  memory  back 
over  the  pages  of  history  for  about  eighty-two 
years,  and  we  discover  that  we  were  then  a  very 
small  people  in  point  of  numbers,  vastly  in- 
ferior to  what  we  are  now,  with  a  vastly  less 
extent  of  country,  with  vastly  less  of  everything 
we  deem  desirable  among  men.  We  look  upon 
the  change  as  exceedingly  advantageous  to  us  and 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  Iir 

to  our  posterity,  and  we  fix  upon  something  that 
happened  away  back,  as  in  some  way  or  other 
being  connected  with  this  rise  of  prosperity.  We 
find  a  race  of  men  living  in  that  day  whom  we 
claim  as  our  fathers  and  grandfathers  ;  they  were 
iron  men ;  they  fought  for  the  principle  that  they 
were  contending  for,  and  we  understand  that  by 
what  they  then  did,  it  has  followed  that  the  de- 
gree of  prosperity  which  we  now  enjoy  has  come 
to  us.  We  hold  this  annual  celebration  to  remind 
ourselves  of  all  the  good  done  in  this  process  of 
time,  —  of  how  it  was  done,  and  who  did  it,  and 
how  we  are  historically  connected  with  it;  and 
we  go  from  these  meetings  in  better  humour  with 
ourselves,  —  we  feel  more  attached  the  one  to 
the  other,  and  more  firmly  bound  to  the  country 
we  inhabit.  In  every  way  we  are  better  men,  in 
the  age  and  race  and  country  in  which  we  live, 
for  these  celebrations.  But  after  we  have  done 
all  this,  we  have  not  yet  reached  the  whole. 
There  is  something  else  connected  with  it.  We 
have,  besides  these  men  —  descended  by  blood 
from  our  ancestors  —  among  us,  perhaps  half  our 
people  who  are  not  descendants  at  all  of  these 
men ;  they  are  men  who  have  come  from  Europe, 
—  German,  Irish,  French,  and  Scandinavian,  — 
men  that  have  come  from  Europe  themselves,  or 


112  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

whose  ancestors  have  come  hither  and  settled 
here,  rinding  themselves  our  equal  in  all  things. 
If  they  look  back  through  this  history,  to  trace 
their  connection  with  those  days  by  blood,  they 
find  they  have  none  :  they  cannot  carry  them- 
selves back  into  that  glorious  epoch  and  make 
themselves  feel  that  they  are  part  of  us ;  but  when 
they  look  through  that  old  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, they  find  that  those  old  men  say  that 
<  we  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident,  that  all 
men  are  created  equal,'  and  then  they  feel  that 
that  moral  sentiment  taught  in  that  day  evidences 
their  relation  to  those  men,  that  it  is  the  father 
of  all  moral  principle  in  them,  and  that  they  have 
a  right  to  claim  it  as  though  they  were  blood  of 
the  blood,  and  flesh  of  the  flesh,  of  the  men  who 
wrote  that  Declaration ;  and  so  they  are.  That 
is  the  electric  cord  in  that  Declaration  that  links 
the  hearts  of  patriotic  and  liberty-loving  men  to- 
gether; that  will  link  those  patriotic  hearts  as 
long  as  the  love  of  freedom  exists  in  the  minds 
of  men  throughout  the  world. 

"  Now,  sirs,  for  the  purpose  of  squaring  things 
with  this  idea  of  '  don't  care  if  slavery  is  voted 
up  or  voted  down  ; '  for  sustaining  the  Dred  Scott 
decision  ;  for  holding  that  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence did  not  mean  anything  at  all,  —  we 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  II3 

have  Judge  Douglas  giving  his  exposition  of  what 
the  Declaration  of  Independence  means,  and  we 
have  him  saying  that  the  people  of  America  are 
equal  to  the  people  of  England.  According  to 
his  construction,  you  Germans  are  not  connected 
with  it.  Now,  I  ask  you  in  all  soberness,  if  all 
these  things,  if  indulged  in,  if  ratified,  if  con- 
firmed and  indorsed,  if  taught  to  our  children 
and  repeated  to  them,  do  not  tend  to  rub  out  the 
sentiment  of  liberty  in  the  country,  and  to  trans- 
form this  government  into  a  government  of  some 
other  form?  Those  arguments  that  are  made, 
that  the  inferior  race  are  to  be  treated  with  as 
much  allowance  as  they  are  capable  of  enjoying ; 
that  as  much  is  to  be  done  for  them  as  their  con- 
dition will  allow,  —  what  are  these  arguments  ? 
They  are  the  arguments  that  kings  have  made 
for  enslaving  the  people  in  all  ages  of  the  world. 
You  will  find  that  all  the  arguments  in  favour  of 
kingcraft  were  of  this  class ;  they  always  bestrode 
the  necks  of  the  people,  —  not  that  they  wanted 
to  do  it,  but  because  the  people  were  better  off 
for  being  ridden.  That  is  their  argument ;  and 
this  argument  of  the  Judge  is  the  same  old  ser- 
pent, that  says,  '  You  work,  and  I  eat ;  you  toil, 
and  I  will  enjoy  the  fruits  of  it.'  Turn  in  what- 
ever way  you  will,  —  whether  it  come  from  the 
8 


It4  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

mouth  of  a  king,  an  excuse  for  enslaving  the  peo- 
ple of  his  country,  or  from  the  mouth  of  men  of  one 
race  as  a  reason  for  enslaving  the  men  of  another 
race,  —  it  is  all  the  same  old  serpent ;  and  I  hold, 
if  that  course  of  argumentation  that  is  made  for 
the  purpose  of  convincing  the  public  mind  that 
we  should  not  care  about  this,  should  be  granted, 
it  does  not  stop  with  the  negro.  I  should  like  to 
know  —  taking  this  old  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, which  declares  that  all  men  are  equal, 
upon  principle,  and  making  exceptions  to  it  — 
where  will  it  stop?  If  one  man  says  it  does  not 
mean  a  negro,  why  not  another  say  it  does  not 
mean  some  other  man?  If  that  Declaration  is 
not  the  truth,  let  us  get  the  statute-book  in  which 
we  find  it,  and  tear  it  out !  Who  is  so  bold  as  to 
do  it  ?  If  it  is  not  true,  let  us  tear  it  out.  [Cries 
of  "  No  !  No  !  "]  Let  us  stick  to  it,  then ;  let  us 
stand  firmly  by  it,  then. 

"  It  may  be  argued  that  there  are  certain  con- 
ditions that  make  necessities  and  impose  them 
upon  us,  and  to  the  extent  that  a  necessity  is 
imposed  upon  a  man,  he  must  submit  to  it.  I 
think  that  was  the  condition  in  which  we  found 
ourselves  when  we  established  this  government. 
We  had  slaves  a*mong  us ;  we  could  not  get  our 
Constitution  unless  we  permitted  them  to  remain 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  II5 

in  slavery ;  we  could  not  secure  the  good  we  did 
secure,  if  we  grasped  for  more ;  but,  having  by 
necessity  submitted  to  that  much,  it  does  not  de- 
stroy the  principle  that  is  the  charter  of  our  liber- 
ties. Let  that  charter  stand  as  our  standard. 

"  My  friend  has  said  to  me  that  I  am  a  poor 
hand  to  quote  Scripture.  I  will  try  it  again,  how- 
ever. It  is  said  in  one  of  the  admonitions  of  our 
Lord,  '  Be  ye  [therefore]  perfect  even  as  your 
Father  which  is  in  heaven  is  perfect.'  The 
Saviour,  I  suppose,  did  not  expect  that  any 
human  creature  could  be  perfect  as  the  Father 
in  heaven  •  but  He  said :  '  As  your  Father  in 
heaven  is  perfect,  be  ye  also  perfect.'  He  set 
that  up  as  a  standard,  and  he  who  did  most  to- 
ward reaching  that  standard  attained  the  highest 
degree  of  moral  perfection.  So  I  say  in  relation 
to  the  principle  that  all  men  are  created  equal, 
let  it  be  as  nearly  reached  as  we  can.  If  we  can- 
not give  freedom  to  every  creature,  let  us  do 
nothing  that  will  impose  slavery  upon  any  other 
creature.  Let  us,  then,  turn  this  government 
back  into  the  channel  in  which  the  framers  of 
the  Constitution  originally  placed  it.  Let  us 
stand  firmly  by  each  other.  If  we  do  not  do  so, 
we  are  tending  in  the  contrary  direction,  that  our 
friend  Judge  Douglas  proposes,  —  not  intention- 


!l6  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 

ally,  —  working  in  the  traces  that  tend  to  make 
this  one  universal  slave  nation.  He  is  one  that 
runs  in  that  direction,  and  as  such  I  resist  him. 

"  My  friends,  1  have  detained  you  about  as 
long  as  I  desired  to  do,  and  I  have  only  to  say, 
let  us  discard  all  this  quibbling  about  this  man 
and  the  other  man,  this  race  and  that  race  and 
the  other  race  being  inferior,  and  therefore  they 
must  be  placed  in  an  inferior  position.  Let  us 
discard  all  these  things,  and  unite  as  one  people 
throughout  this  land,  until  we  shall  once  more 
stand  up  declaring  that  all  men  are  created 
equal. 

"  My  friends,  I  could  not,  without  launching 
off  upon  some  new  topic,  which  would  detain  you 
too  long,  continue  to-night.  I  thank  you  for 
this  most  extensive  audience  that  you  have  fur- 
nished me  to-night.  I  leave  you,  hoping  that 
the  lamp  of  liberty  will  burn  in  your  bosoms  until 
there  shall  no  longer  be  a  doubt  that  all  men  are 
created  free  and  equal." 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


FROM  HIS  SPEECH  AT  SPRINGFIELD,  ILLINOIS. 

July  17,  1858. 

"...  There  is  still  another  disadvantage 
under  which  we  labour,  and  to  which  I  will  ask 
your  attention.  It  arises  out  of  the  relative 
positions  of  the  two  persons  who  stand  before 
the  State  as  candidates  for  the  Senate.  Senator 
Douglas  is  of  world-wide  renown.  All  the  anxious 
politicians  of  his  party,  or  who  have  been  of  his 
party  for  years  past,  have  been  looking  upon  him 
as  certainly,  at  no  distant  day,  to  be  the  President 
of  the  United  States.  They  have  seen,  in  his 
round,  jolly,  fruitful  face,  post-offices,  land-offices, 
marshalships,  and  cabinet  appointments,  charge"- 
ships  and  foreign  missions,  bursting  and  sprouting 
out  in  wonderful  exuberance,  ready  to  be  laid 
hold  of  by  their  greedy  hands.  And  as  they  have 
been  gazing  upon  this  attractive  picture  so  long, 
they  cannot,  in  the  little  distraction  that  has  taken 
place  in  the  party,  bring  themselves  to  give  up 
the  charming  hope.  But  with  greedier  anxiety 
they  rush  about  him,  sustain  him,  and  give  him 
marches,  triumphal  entries,  and  receptions,  be- 
yond what,  even  in  the  days  of  his  highest  pros- 
perity, they  could  have  brought  about  in  his  favour. 
On  the  contrary,  nobody  has  ever  expected  me 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


to  be  President.  In  my  poor,  lean,  lank  face, 
nobody  has  ever  seen  that  any  cabbages  were 
sprouting  out.  These  are  disadvantages,  all 
taken  together,  that  the  Republicans  labour  under. 
We  have  to  fight  this  battle  upon  principle,  and 
upon  principle  alone.  I  am  in  a  certain  sense 
made  the  standard-bearer  in  behalf  of  the  Re- 
publicans. I  was  made  so  merely  because  there 
had  to  be  some  one  so  placed,  —  I  being  in  no 
wise  preferable  to  any  other  one  of  the  twenty- 
five,  perhaps  a  hundred,  we  have  in  the  Repub- 
lican ranks.  Then  I  say,  I  wish  it  to  be  distinctly 
understood  and  borne  in  mind,  that  we  have  to 
fight  this  battle  without  many  —  perhaps  without 
any  —  of  the  external  aids  which  are  brought  to 
bear  against  us.  So  I  hope  those  with  whom  I 
am  surrounded  have  principle  enough  to  nerve 
themselves  for  the  task,  and  leave  nothing  undone 
that  can  fairly  be  done  to  bring  about  the  right 
result. 

"After  Senator  Douglas  left  Washington  .  .  . 
he  tarried  ...  in  the  city  of  New  York  ;  and  it 
was  heralded  that,  like  another  Napoleon,  he  was 
lying  by  and  framing  the  plan  of  his  campaign  ; 
...  his  plan  for  the  purpose  of  going  to  Illinois, 
to  pounce  upon  and  annihilate  the  treasonable 
and  disunion  speech  which  Lincoln  had  made 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


119 


here  on  the  sixteenth  of  June.  ...  I  think 
I  have  been  able  to  see  what  are  the  material 
points  of  that  plan.  .  .  .  What  I  shall  point  out, 
though  not  showing  the  whole  plan,  are  never- 
theless the  main  points,  as  I  suppose. 

"  They  are  not  very  numerous.  The  first  is 
popular  sovereignty.  The  second  and  third  are 
attacks  upon  my  speech  of  the  sixteenth  of  June. 
.  .  .  Auxiliary  to  these  main  points,  to  be  sure, 
are  their  thunderings  of  cannon,  their  marching 
and  music,  their  fizzlegigs  and  fireworks;  but  I 
will  not  waste  time  with  them.  .  .  . 

"  As  appears  by  two  speeches  I  have  heard 
him  deliver  since  his  arrival  in  Illinois,  he  gave 
special  attention  to  the  speech  of  mine  delivered 
on  the  sixteenth  of  June.  He  says  that  he  care- 
fully read  that  speech.  He  told  us  that  at  Chicago 
a  week  ago  last  night,  and  he  repeated  it  at  Bloom- 
ington  last  night.  .  .  . 

"  Having  made  that  speech  with  the  most 
kindly  feelings  toward  Judge  Douglas,  as  mani- 
fested therein,  I  was  gratified  when  I  found  that 
he  had  carefully  examined  it,  and  had  detected 
no  error  of  fact,  nor  any  inference  against  him, 
nor  any  misrepresentations,  of  which  he  thought 
fit  to  complain.  .  .  .  He  seizes  upon  the  doc- 
trines he  supposes  to  be  included  in  that  speech, 


I2Q  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

and  declares  that  upon  them  will  turn  the  issues 
of  the  campaign.  He  then  quotes,  or  attempts 
to  quote,  from  my  speech.  I  will  not  say  that  he 
wilfully  misquotes,  but  he  does  fail  to  quote  ac- 
curately. His  attempt  at  quoting  is  from  a  pas- 
sage which  I  believe  I  can  quote  accurately  from 
memory.  I  shall  make  the  quotation  now,  with 
some  comments  upon  it,  as  I  have  already  said, 
in  order  that  the  Judge  shall  be  left  entirely  with- 
out excuse  for  misrepresenting  me.  I  do  so  now, 
as  I  hope,  for  the  last  time.  I  do  this  in  great 
caution,  in  order  that  if  he  repeats  his  misrepre- 
sentation, it  shall  be  plain  to  all  that  he  does  so 
wilfully.  If,  after  all,  he  still  persists,  I  shall  be 
compelled  to  reconstruct  the  course  I  have 
marked  out  for  myself,  and  draw  upon  such 
humble  resources  as  I  have  for  a  new  course, 
better  suited  to  the  real  exigencies  of  the  case. 
I  set  out  in  this  campaign  with  the  intention  of 
conducting  it  strictly  as  a  gentleman,  in  substance 
at  least,  if  not  in  the  outside  polish.  The  latter 
I  shall  never  be,  but  that  which  constitutes  the 
inside  of  a  gentleman  I  hope  I  understand,  and 
am  not  less  inclined  to  practise  than  others.  It 
was  my  purpose  and  expectation  that  this  canvass 
would  be  conducted  upon  principle,  and  with 
fairness  on  both  sides,  and  it  shall  not  be  my 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  I2i 

fault  if  this  purpose  and  expectation  shall  be 
given  up. 

"  He  charges,  in  substance,  that  I  invite  a  war 
of  sections ;  that  I  propose  all  local  institutions  of 
the  different  States  shall  become  consolidated  and 
uniform.  What  is  there  in  the  language  of  that 
speech  which  expresses  such  purpose  or  bears 
such  construction?  I  have  again  and  again  said 
that  I  would  not  enter  into  any  one  of  the  States 
to  disturb  the  institution  of  slavery.  Judge 
Douglas  said  at  Bloomington  that  I  used  lan- 
guage most  able  and  ingenious  for  concealing 
what  I  really  meant ;  and  that  while  I  had  pro- 
tested against  entering  into  the  slave  States,  I 
nevertheless  did  mean  to  go  on  the  banks  of 
the  Ohio  and  throw  missiles  into  Kentucky,  to 
disturb  them  in  their  domestic  institutions. 

"  I  said  in  that  speech,  and  I  meant  no  more, 
that  the  institution  of  slavery  ought  to  be  placed 
in  the  very  attitude  where  the  framers  of  this 
government  placed  it.  ...  In  the  sentence  re- 
ferred to,  I  simply  expressed  an  expectation. 
Cannot  the  Judge  perceive  a  distinction  between 
a  purpose  and  an  expectation?  I  have  often 
expressed  an  expectation  to  die,  but  I  have  never 
expressed  a  wish  to  die.  ...  I  said  at  Chicago, 
and  I  now  repeat,  that  I  do  wish  to  see  the  spread 


122  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

of  slavery  arrested,  and  to  see  it  placed  where  the 
public  mind  shall  rest  in  the  belief  that  it  is  in 
the  course  of  ultimate  extinction  .  .  .  then  .  .  . 
we  shall  have  peace  on  the  slavery  question. 

"...  I  have  said  that  I  do  not  understand  the 
Declaration  to  mean  that  all  men  were  created 
equal  in  all  respects.  The  negroes  are  not  our 
equals  in  colour ;  but  I  suppose  it  does  mean  to 
declare  that  all  men  are  equal  in  some  respects ; 
they  are  equal  in  their  right  to  '  life,  liberty,  and 
the  pursuit  of  happiness.'  Certainly  the  negro 
is  not  our  equal  in  colour,  perhaps  not  in  many 
other  respects.  Still,  in  the  right  to  put  into  his 
mouth  the  bread  that  his  own  hands  have  earned, 
he  is  the  equal  of  every  other  man,  white  or  black. 
In  pointing  out  that  more  has  been  given  you, 
you  cannot  be  justified  in  taking  away  the  little 
which  has  been  given  him.  All  I  ask  for  the 
negro  is,  that  if  you  do  not  like  him,  let  him 
alone.  If  God  gave  him  but  little,  that  little  let 
him  enjoy. 

"...  One  more  point  on  this  Springfield 
speech,  which  Judge  Douglas  says  he  has  read 
so  carefully.  I  expressed  my  belief  in  the  exist- 
ence of  a  conspiracy  to  perpetuate  and  national- 
ise slavery.  I  did  not  profess  to  know  it,  nor  do 
I  -now.  I  showed  the  part  Judge  Douglas  had 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  123 

played  in  the  string  of  facts,  constituting  to  my 
mind  the  proof  of  that  conspiracy.  I  showed 
the  parts  played  by  others. 

"  I  charged  that  the  people  had  been  deceived 
into  carrying  the  last  presidential  election,  by  the 
impression  that  the  people  of  the  Territories 
might  exclude  slavery  if  they  chose,  when  it  was 
known  in  advance  by  the  conspirators  that  the 
court  was  to  decide  that  neither  Congress  nor 
the  people  could  so  exclude  slavery.  These 
charges  are  more  distinctly  made  than  anything 
else  in  the  speech. 

"Judge  Douglas  has  carefully  read  and  re-read 
that  speech.  He  has  not,  so  far  as  I  know,  con- 
tradicted those  charges.  In  the  two  speeches 
which  I  heard  he  certainly  did  not.  On  his  own 
tacit  admission  I  renew  that  charge.  I  charge 
him  with  having  been  a  party  to  that  conspiracy 
and  to  that  deception,  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
nationalizing  slavery." 


124  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

THE   LINCOLN  AND    DOUGLAS   DEBATE. 
THE  FIRST  MEETING  AT  OTTAWA,  ILLINOIS. 

August  21,  1858. 

[In  his  opening  speech,  Judge  Douglas  formu- 
lated the  direct  charge  of  a  conspiracy  created  in 
1854,  between  Mr.  Lincoln  and  Judge  Lyman 
Trumbull  and  their  followers,  to  dissolve  the  old 
national  Whig  and  Democratic  parties,  and  to 
form  out  of  the  materials  a  new  sectional,  Aboli- 
tion party,  which  should  reward  both  the  leaders 
by  an  election  to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States. 
He  said  that  their  platform  was  adopted  in  a 
convention  held  at  Springfield  in  October,  1854, 
some  resolutions  of  which  he  read.  He  con- 
cluded as  follows  :] 

"...  I  believe  that  this  new  doctrine  preached 
by  Mr.  Lincoln  and  his  party  will  dissolve  the 
Union  if  it  succeeds.  They  are  trying  to  array 
all  the  Northern  States  in  one  body  against  the 
South;  to  excite  a  sectional  war  between  the 
free  States  and  the  slave  States,  in  order  that 
the  one  or  the  other  may  be  driven  to  the  wall." 

Mr.  Lincoln  began  his  reply  by  saying  :  — 
"  When  a  man  hears  himself  somewhat  misre- 
presented, it  provokes  him  —  at  least,  I  find  it  so 
with  myself;  but  when  misrepresentation  becomes 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  125 

very  gross  and  palpable,  it  is  more  apt  to  amuse 
him.  .  .  .  [After  stating  the  charge  of  an  arrange- 
ment between  himself  and  Judge  Trumbull.] 

"  Now,  all  I  have  to  say  upon  that  subject  is,  that 
I  think  no  man  —  not  even  Judge  Douglas  —  can 
prove  it,  because  it  is  not  true.  I  have  no  doubt 
he  is  '  conscientious  '  in  saying  it.  As  to  those 
resolutions  that  he  took  such  a  length  of  time  to 
read,  as  being  the  platform  of  the  Republican 
party  in  1854,  I  say  I  never  had  anything  to  do 
with  them,  and  I  think  Trumbull  never  had.  .  .  . 

"  Now,  about  this  story  that  Judge  Douglas  tells 
of  Trumbull  bargaining  to  sell  out  the  old  Demo- 
cratic party,  and  Lincoln  agreeing  to  sell  out  the 
old  Whig  party,  I  have  the  means  of  knowing 
about  that ;  Judge  Douglas  cannot  have ;  and  I 
know  there  is  no  substance  to  it  whatever.  .  .  . 

"  A  man  cannot  prove  a  negative,  but  he  has  a 
right  to  claim  that  when  a  man  makes  an  affirma- 
tive charge,  he  must  offer  some  proof  to  show  the 
truth  of  what  he  says.  I  certainly  cannot  intro- 
duce testimony  to  show  the  negative  about  things, 
but  I  have  a  right  to  claim  that  if  a  man  says  he 
knows  a  thing,  then  he  must  show  how  he  knows 
it.  I  always  have  a  right  to  claim  this  ;  and  it  is 
not  satisfactory  to  me  that  he  may  be  '  conscien- 
tious '  on  the  subject. 


126  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

"...  In  regard  to  that  general  abolition  tilt 
that  Judge  Douglas  makes,  when  he  says  that  I 
was  engaged  at  that  time  in  Abolitionizing  the 
old  Whig  party,  I  hope  you  will  permit  me  to 
read  a  part  of  a  printed  speech  which  I  then 
made  at  Peoria,  which  will  show  altogether  a 
different  view  of  the  position  I  took  in  that  con- 
test of  1854.  .  .  . 

[After  reading  from  the  Peoria  speech  his 
argument  against  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Com- 
promise, the  wrong  of  letting  slavery  into  Kansas 
and  Nebraska,  his  hatred  of  the  wrong  and  injus- 
tice of  slavery,  and  his  full  recognition  of  the 
rights  of  the  South  under  the  Constitution, 
"not  grudgingly,  but  fully  and  fairly,"  including 
"legislation  for  the  reclamation  of  their  fugitive 
slaves,"  —  he  continued  :] 

"...  I  have  read  to  you  the  true  complexion 
of  all  I  have  ever  said  in  regard  to  the  institution 
of  slavery  and  the  black  race.  This  is  the  whole  of 
it,  and  anything  that  argues  me  into  his  idea 
of  perfect  social  and  political  equality  with  the 
negro  is  but  a  specious  and  fantastic  arrangement 
of  words,  by  which  a  man  can  prove  a  horse- 
chestnut  to  be  a  chestnut  horse.  I  will  say  here, 
while  upon  this  subject,  that  I  have  no  purpose, 
either  directly  or  indirectly,  to  interfere  with  the 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  1 27 

institution  of  slavery  in  the  States  where  it  exists. 
I  believe  I  have  no  lawful  right  to  do  so,  and  I 
have  no  inclination  to  do  so.  I  have  no  purpose 
to  introduce  political  and  social  equality  between 
the  white  and  the  black  races.  There  is  a  physical 
difference  between  the  two,  which,  in  my  judg- 
ment, will  probably  forever  forbid  their  living 
together  upon  the  footing  of  perfect  equality; 
and  inasmuch  as  it  becomes  a  necessity  that  there 
must  be  a  difference,  I,  as  well  as  Judge  Douglas, 
am  in  favour  of  the  race  to  which  I  belong  hav- 
ing the  superior  position.  I  have  never  said  any- 
thing to  the  contrary ;  but  I  hold,  that,  notwith- 
standing all  this,  there  is  no  reason  in  the  world 
why  the  negro  is  not  entitled  to  all  the  natural 
rights  enumerated  in  the  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence, —  the  right  to  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit 
of  happiness.  I  hold  that  he  is  as  much  entitled 
to  these  as  the  white  man.  I  agree  with  Judge 
Douglas,  he  is  not  my  equal  in  many  respects,  cer- 
tainly not  in  colour,  perhaps  not  in  moral  or  in- 
tellectual endowment.  But  in  the  right  to  eat  the 
bread,  without  the  leave  of  anybody,  which  his 
own  hand  earns,  he  is  my  equal,  and  the  equal  of 
Judge  Douglas,  and  the  equal  of  any  living  man. 
"...  I  will  dwell  a  little  longer  upon  one  or 
two  of  these  minor  topics  upon  which  the  Judge 


128  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

has  spoken.  He  has  read  from  my  speech  at 
Springfield,  in  which  I  say  that  '  a  house  divided 
against  itself  cannot  stand.'  Does  the  Judge 
say  it  can  stand  ?  I  don't  know  whether  he  does 
or  not.  The  Judge  does  not  seem  to  be  attend- 
ing to  me  just  now,  but  I  would  like  to  know  if 
it  is  his  opinion  that  a  house  divided  against  itself 
can  stand  ?  If  he  does,  then  there  is  a  question 
of  veracity,  not  between  him  and  me,  but  be- 
tween the  Judge  and  an  authority  of  a  somewhat 
higher  character. 

"Now,  my  friends,  I  ask  your  attention  to 
this  matter  for  the  purpose  of  saying  something 
seriously.  I  know  that  the  Judge  may  readily 
enough  agree  with  me  that  the  maxim  which  was 
put  forth  by  the  Saviour  is  true,  but  he  may  allege 
that  I  misapply  it ;  and  the  Judge  has  a  right  to 
urge  that  in  my  application  I  do  misapply  it,  and 
then  I  have  a  right  to  show  that  I  do  not  mis- 
apply it.  When  he  undertakes  to  say  that  be- 
cause I  think  this  nation,  so  far  as  the  question 
of  slavery  is  concerned,  will  all  become  one  thing 
or  all  the  other,  I  am  in  favour  of  bringing 
about  a  dead  uniformity  in  the  various  States,  in 
all  their  institutions,  he  argues  erroneously.  The 
great  variety  of  local  institutions  in  the  States, 
springing  from  differences  in  the  soil,  differences 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  129 

in  the  face  of  the  country,  and  in  the  climate  are 
bonds  of  union.  They  do  not  make  'a  house 
divided  against  itself/  but  they  make  a  house 
united.  If  they  produce  in  one  section  of  the 
country  what  is  called  for  by  the  wants  of  another 
section,  and  this  other  section  can  supply  the 
wants  of  the  first,  they  are  not  matters  of  discord, 
but  bonds  of  union,  true  bonds  of  union.  But 
can  this  question  of  slavery  be  considered  as 
among  these  varieties  in  the  institutions  of  the 
country?  I  leave  it  for  you  to  say,  whether  in 
the  history  of  our  government,  this  institution  of 
slavery  has  not  always  failed  to  be  a  bond  of  union, 
and,  on  the  contrary,  been  an  apple  of  discord 
and  an  element  of  division  in  the  house.  I  ask 
you  to  consider  whether  so  long  as  the  moral 
constitution  of  men's  minds  shall  continue  to  be 
the  same,  after  this  generation  and  assemblage 
shall  sink  into  the  grave,  and  another  race  shall 
arise  with  the  same  moral  and  intellectual  devel- 
opment we  have  —  whether,  if  that  institution  is 
standing  in  the  same  irritating  position  in  which 
it  now  is,  it  will  not  continue  an  element  of 
division  ? 

"If  so,  then  I  have   a  right  to  say  that,  in 
regard   to  this   question,  the   Union  is  a  house 
divided  against  itself;  and  when  the  Judge  re- 
9 


130  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

minds  me  that  I  have  often  said  to  him  that  the 
institution  of  slavery  has  existed  for  eighty  years 
in  some  States,  and  yet  it  does  not  exist  in  some 
others,  I  agree  to  the  fact,  and  I  account  for  it 
by  looking  at  the  position  in  which  our  fathers 
originally  placed  it,  —  restricting  it  from  the  new 
Territories  where  it  had  not  gone,  and  legislating 
to  cut  off  its  source  by  the  abrogation  of  the  slave- 
trade,  thus  putting  the  seal  of  legislation  against 
its  spread.  The  public  mind  did  rest  in  the  be- 
liof  that  it  was  in  the  course  of  ultimate  extinc- 
tion. But  lately,  I  think,  —  and  in  this  I  charge 
nothing  on  the  Judge's  motives,  —  lately,  I  think 
that  he  and  those  acting  with  him  have  placed 
that  institution  on  a  new  basis,  which  looks  to 
the  perpetuity  and  nationalization  of  slavery. 
And  while  it  is  placed  on  this  new  basis,  I  say, 
and  I  have  said,  that  I  believe  we  shall  not  have 
peace  upon  the  question,  until  the  opponents  of 
slavery  arrest  the  further  spread  of  it,  and  place 
it  where  the  public  mind  shall  rest  in  the  belief 
that  it  is  in  the  course  of  ultimate  extinction ; 
or,  on  the  other  hand,  that  its  advocates  will 
push  it  forward  until  it  shall  become  alike  lawful 
in  all  the  States,  old  as  well  as  new,  North  as 
well  as  South.  Now,  I  believe  if  we  could  arrest 
the  spread,  and  place  it  where  Washington  and 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  131 

Jefferson  and  Madison  placed  it,  it  would  be 
in  the  course  of  ultimate  extinction,  and  the 
public  mind  would,  as  for  eighty  years  past, 
believe  that  it  was  in  the  course  of  ultimate 
extinction.  The  crisis  would  be  past,  and  the 
institution  might  be  let  alone  for  a  hundred  years 
—  if  it  should  live  so  long  —  in  the  States  where 
it  exists,  yet  it  would  be  going  out  of  existence 
in  the  way  best  for  both  the  black  and  the  white 
races.  [A  voice,  "  Then  do  you  repudiate  popu- 
lar sovereignty?  "]  Well,  then,  let  us  talk  about 
popular  sovereignty.  What  is  popular  sover- 
eignty? Is  it  the  right  of  the  people  to  have 
slavery  or  not  to  have  it,  as  they  see  fit,  in  the 
Territories?  I  will  state  —  and  I  have  an  able 
man  to  watch  me  —  my  understanding  is  that 
popular  sovereignty,  as  now  applied  to  the  ques- 
tion of  slavery,  does  allow  the  people  of  a  Terri- 
,tory  to  have  slavery  if  they  want  to,  but  does  not 
allow  them  not  to  have  it  if  they  do  not  want  it. 
I  do  not  mean  that  if  this  vast  concourse  of  peo- 
ple were  in  a  Territory  of  the  United  States,  any 
one  of  them  would  be  obliged  to  have  a  slave  if 
he  did  not  want  one ;  but  I  do  say  that,  as  I 
understand  the  Dred  Scott  decision,  if  any  one 
man  wants  slaves,  all  the  rest  have  no  way  of 
keeping  that  one  man  from  holding  them. 


132  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

"  When  I  made  my  speech  at  Springfield,  of 
which  the  Judge  complains,  and  from  which  he 
quotes,  I  really  was  not  thinking  of  the  things 
which  he  ascribes  to  me  at  all.  I  had  no 
thought  in  the  world  that  I  was  doing  anything 
to  bring  about  a  war  between  the  free  and  slave 
States.  I  had  no  thought  in  the  world  that  I  was 
doing  anything  to  bring  about  a  political  and 
social  equality  of  the  black  and  white  races.  It 
never  occurred  to  me  that  I  was  doing  anything 
or  favouring  anything  to  reduce  to  a  dead  uni- 
formity all  the  local  institutions  of  the  various 
States.  But  I  must  say,  in  all  fairness  to  him,  if 
he  thinks  I  am  doing  something  which  leads  to 
these  bad  results,  it  is  none  the  better  that  I  did 
not  mean  it.  It  is  just  as  fatal  to  the  country,  if 
I  have  any  influence  in  producing  it,  whether  I 
intend  it  or  not.  But  can  it  be  true  that  placing 
this  institution  upon  the  original  basis  —  the  basis 
upon  which  our  fathers  placed  it  —  can  have  any 
tendency  to  set  the  Northern  and  the  Southern 
States  at  war  with  one  another,  or  that  it  can 
have  any  tendency  to  make  the  people  of  Ver- 
mont raise  sugar-cane,  because  they  raise  it  in 
Louisiana,  or  that  it  can  compel  the  people  of 
Illinois  to  cut  pine  logs  on  the  Grand  Prairie, 
where  they  will  not  grow,  because  they  cut  pine 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  133 

logs  in  Maine,  where  they  do  grow?  The  Judge 
says  this  is  a  new  principle  started  in  regard  to  this 
question.  Does  the  Judge  claim  that  he  is  work- 
ing on  the  plan  of  the  founders  of  the  govern- 
ment? I  think  he  says  in  some  of  his  speeches 
—  indeed,  I  have  one  here  now  —  that  he  saw 
evidence  of  a  policy  to  allow  slavery  to  be  south 
of  a  certain  line,  while  north  of  it  it  should  be 
excluded,  and  he  saw  an  indisposition  on  the 
part  of  the  country  to  stand  upon  that  policy,  and, 
therefore,  he  set  about  studying  the  subject  upon 
original  principles,  and  upon  original  principles 
he  got  up  the  Nebraska  Bill !  I  am  fighting  it 
upon  these  ( original  principles  '  —  fighting  it 
in  the  Jeffersonian,  Washingtonian,  Madisonian 
fashion. 

[Mr.  Lincoln  then  adverted  to  his  claim  made 
in  the  "  Divided  House  "  speech,  that  the  Ne- 
braska Bill  was  prepared  in  anticipation  of  the 
decision  in  the  Dred  Scott  case,  which  decision 
denied  the  right  of  the  people  of  a  Territory  to 
exclude  slavery,  which  right  was  affirmed  in  the 
Nebraska  Bill,  and  continued  :] 

"  .  .  .  I  want  to  ask  your  attention  to  a  por- 
tion of  the  Nebraska  Bill  which  Judge  Douglas  has 
quoted :  '  It  being  the  true  intent  and  meaning 
of  this  act,  not  to  legislate  slavery  into  any  Terri- 


134  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

tory  or  State,  nor  to  exclude  it  therefrom,  but  to 
leave  the  people  thereof  perfectly  free  to  form 
and  regulate  their  domestic  institutions  in  their 
own  way,  subject  only  to  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States.'  Thereupon  Judge  Douglas  and 
others  began  to  argue  in  favour  of  '  popular  sov- 
ereignty,' —  the  right  of  the  people  to  have 
slaves  if  they  wanted  them,  and  to  exclude  slav- 
ery if  they  did  not  want  them.  '  But,'  said,  in 
substance,  a  senator  from  Ohio  (Mr.  Chase,  I 
believe),  'we  more  than  suspect  that  you  do  not 
mean  to  allow  the  people  to  exclude  slavery  if 
they  wish  to ;  and  if  you  do  mean  it,  accept  an 
amendment  which  I  propose,  expressly  authoris- 
ing the  people  to  exclude  slavery.'  I  believe  I 
have  the  amendment  here  before  me,  which  was 
offered,  and  under  which  the  people  of  the  Terri- 
tory, through  their  proper  representatives,  might, 
if  they  saw  fit,  prohibit  the  existence  of  slavery 
therein.  And  now  I  state  it  as  a  fact,  to  be  taken 
back  if  there  is  any  mistake  about  it,  that  Judge 
Douglas  and  those  acting  with  him  voted  that 
amendment  down.  I  now  think  that  those  who 
voted  it  down  had  a  real  reason  for  doing  so. 
They  know  what  that  reason  was.  It  looks  to  us, 
since  we  have  seen  the  Dred  Scott  decision  pro- 
nounced, holding  that  'under  the  Constitution' 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  135 

the  people  cannot  exclude  slavery  —  I  say  it 
looks  to  outsiders,  poor,  simple,  '  amiable,  intel- 
ligent gentlemen,'  as  though  the  niche  was  left 
as  a  place  to  put  that  Dred  Scott  decision  in,  a 
niche  that  would  have  been  spoiled  by  adopting 
the  amendment.  And  now  I  say  again,  if  this 
was  not  the  reason,  it  will  avail  the  Judge  much 
more  to  calmly  and  good-humouredly  point  out 
to  these  people  what  that  other  reason  was  for 
voting  the  amendment  down,  than  swelling  him- 
self up  to  vociferate  that  he  may  be  provoked  to 
call  somebody  a  liar. 

"  Again,  there  is  in  that  same  quotation  from 
the  Nebraska  Bill  this  clause  :  '  it  being  the  true 
intent  and  meaning  of  this  bill  not  to  legislate 
slavery  into  any  Territory  or  State.'  I  have  always 
been  puzzled  to  know  what  business  the  word 
'  State  '  had  in  that  connection.  Judge  Douglas 
knows  —  he  put  it  there.  He  knows  what  he 
put  it  there  for.  We  outsiders  cannot  say  what 
he  put  it  there  for.  The  law  they  were  passing 
was  not  about  States,  and  was  not  making  pro- 
vision for  States.  What  was  it  placed  there  for? 
After  seeing  the  Dred  Scott  decision,  which  holds 
that  the  people  cannot  exclude  slavery  from  a 
Territory,  if  another  Dred  Scott  decision  shall 
come,  holding  that  they  cannot  exclude  it  from  a 


136  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

State,  we  shall  discover  that  when  the  word  was 
originally  put  there,  it  was  in  view  of  something 
that  was  to  come  in  due  time ;  we  shall  see  that 
it  was  the  other  half  of  something.  I  now  say 
again,  if  there  was  any  different  reason  for  put- 
ting it  there,  Judge  Douglas,  in  a  good-humoured 
way,  without  calling  anybody  a  liar,  can  tell  what 
the  reason  was. 

"  Now,  my  friends,  ...  I  ask  the  attention  of 
the  people  here  assembled,  and  elsewhere,  to  the 
course  that  Judge  Douglas  is  pursuing  every  day 
as  bearing  upon  this  question  of  making  slavery 
national.  Not  going  back  to  the  records,  but  tak- 
ing the  speeches  he  makes,  the  speeches  he  made 
yesterday  and  the  day  before,  and  makes  con- 
stantly, all  over  the  country,  I  ask  your  attention 
to  them.  In  the  first  place,  what  is  necessary  to 
make  the  institution  national  ?  Not  war :  there 
is  no  danger  that  the  people  of  Kentucky  will 
shoulder  their  muskets  and  .  .  .  march  into 
Illinois  to  force  the  blacks  upon  us.  There  is 
no  danger  of  our  going  over  there,  and  making 
war  upon  them.  Then  what  is  necessary  for 
the  nationalization  of  slavery?  It  is  simply  the 
next  Dred  Scott  decision.  It  is  merely  for  the 
Supreme  Court  to  decide  that  no  State  under 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  137 

the  Constitution  can  exclude  it,  just  as  they 
have  already  decided  that  under  the  Consti- 
tution neither  Congress  nor  the  territorial  legis- 
lature can  do  it.  When  that  is  decided  and 
acquiesced  in,  the  whole  thing  is  done.  This 
being  true  and  this  being  the  way,  as  I  think,  that 
slavery  is  to  be  made  national,  let  us  consider 
what  Judge  Douglas  is  doing  every  day  to  that 
end.  In  the  first  place,  let  us  see  what  influence 
he  is  exerting  on  public  sentiment.  In  this  and 
like  communities,  public  sentiment  is  everything. 
With  public  sentiment  nothing  can  fail ;  without 
it  nothing  can  succeed.  Consequently  he  who 
moulds  public  sentiment  goes  deeper  than  he 
who  enacts  statutes  or  pronounces  decisions. 
He  makes  statutes  and  decisions  possible  or  im- 
possible to  be  executed.  This  must  be  borne  in 
mind,  as  also  the  additional  fact  that  Judge  Doug- 
las is  a  man  of  vast  influence,  so  great  that  it  is 
enough  for  many  men  to  profess  to  believe  any- 
thing when  they  once  find  out  that  Judge  Douglas 
professes  to  believe  it.  Consider  also  the  atti- 
tude he  occupies  at  the  head  of  a  large  party,  — 
a  party  which  he  claims  has  a  majority  of  all  the 
voters  in  the  country. 

"  This  man  sticks  to  a  decision  which  forbids 
the  people  of  a  Territory  to  exclude  slavery,  and  he 


138  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

does  so  not  because  he  says  it  is  right  in  itself,  — 
he  does  not  give  any  opinion  on  that,  —  but  be- 
cause it  has  been  decided  by  the  Court,  and, 
being  decided  by  the  Court,  he  is,  and  you  are, 
bound  to  take  it  in  your  political  action  as  law,  — 
not  that  he  judges  at  all  of  its  merits,  but  because 
a  decision  of  the  Court  is  to  him  a  '  Thus  saith 
the  Lord.'  He  places  it  on  that  ground  alone, 
and  you  will  bear  in  mind  that  thus  committing 
himself  unreservedly  to  this  decision,  commits 
himself  just  as  firmly  to  the  next  one  as  to  this. 
He  did  not  commit  himself  on  account  of  the 
merit  or  demerit  of  the  decision,  but  it  is  a  'Thus 
saith  the  Lord.'  The  next  decision  as  much 
as  this  will  be  a  '  Thus  saith  the  Lord.'  There 
is  nothing  that  can  divert  or  turn  him  away  from 
this  decision.  It  is  nothing  that  I  point  out  to 
him  that  his  great  prototype,  General  Jackson, 
did  not  believe  in  the  binding  force  of  deci- 
sions. It  is  nothing  to  him  that  Jefferson  did 
not  so  believe.  I  have  said  that  I  have  often  heard 
him  approve  of  Jackson's  course  in  disregard- 
ing the  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  pronoun- 
cing a  national  bank  constitutional.  He  says  I 
did  not  hear  him  say  so.  He  denies  the  accur- 
acy of  my  recollection.  I  say  he  ought  to  know 
better  than  I,  but  I  will  make  no  question  about 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  139 

this  thing,  though  it  still  seems  to  me  that  I  heard 
him  say  it  twenty  times.  I  will  tell  him,  though, 
that  he  now  claims  to  stand  on  the  Cincinnati 
platform,  which  affirms  that  Congress  cannot  char- 
ter a  national  bank  in  the  teeth  of  that  old  standing 
decision  that  Congress  can  charter  a  bank.  And 
I  remind  him  of  another  piece  of  Illinois  history 
on  the  question  of  respect  for  judicial  decisions, 
.  .  .  belonging  to  a  time  when  a  large  party  to 
which  Judge  Douglas  belonged,  were  displeased 
with  a  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Illi- 
nois, .  .  .  and  I  know  that  Judge  Douglas  will 
not  deny  that  he  was  then  in  favour  of  over- 
slaughing that  decision,  by  the  mode  of  adding 
five  new  Judges,  so  as  to  vote  down  the  four  old 
ones.  Not  only  so,  but  it  ended  in  the  Judge's 
sitting  down  on  the  very  bench  as  one  of  the 
five  new  judges  to  break  down  the  four  old  ones. 
It  was  in  this  way  precisely  that  he  got  his  title 
of  Judge.  Now,  when  the  Judge  tells  me  that 
men  appointed  conditionally  to  sit  as  members 
of  a  Court  will  have  to  be  catechised  beforehand 
upon  some  subject,  I  say, '  You  know,  Judge  ;  you 
have  tried  it ! '  When  he  says  a  Court  of  this 
kind  will  lose  the  confidence  of  all  men,  will  be 
prostituted  and  disgraced  by  such  a  proceeding, 
I  say,  '  You  know  best,  Judge ;  you  have  been 
through  the  mill.' 


140  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

"  But  I  cannot  shake  Judge  Douglas's  teeth 
loose  from  the  Dred  Scott  decision.  Like  some 
obstinate  animal  (I  mean  no  disrespect)  that  will 
hang  on  when  he  has  once  got  his  teeth  fixed  — 
you  may  cut  off  a  leg,  or  you  may  tear  away  an 
arm,  still  he  will  not  relax  his  hold.  And  so  I 
may  point  out  to  the  Judge,  and  say  that  he  is 
bespattered  all  over,  from  the  beginning  of  his 
political  life  to  the  present  time,  with  attacks 
upon  judicial  decisions,  —  I  may  cut  off  limb 
after  limb  of  his  public  record,  and  strive  to 
wrench  from  him  a  single  dictum  of  the  Court, 
yet  I  cannot  divert  him  from  it.  He  hangs  to 
the  last  to  the  Dred  Scott  decision.  .  .  .  Henry 
Clay,  my  beau  ideal  of  a  statesman,  .  .  .  once  said 
of  a  class  of  men  who  would  repress  all  tendencies 
to  liberty  and  ultimate  emancipation,  that  they 
must,  if  they  would  do  this,  go  back  to  the  era  of 
our  independence,  and  muzzle  the  cannon  that 
thunders  its  annual  joyous  return ;  that  they  must 
blow  out  the  moral  lights  around  us ;  they  must 
penetrate  the  human  soul,  and  eradicate  there 
the  love  of  liberty ;  and  then,  and  not  till  then, 
could  they  perpetuate  slavery  in  this  country  !  To 
my  thinking,  Judge  Douglas  is,  by  his  example 
and  vast  influence,  doing  that  very  thing  in  this 
community  when  he  says  that  the  negro  has  noth- 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  141 

ing  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  Henry 
Clay  plainly  understood  the  contrary.  Judge 
Douglas  is  going  back  to  the  era  of  our  Revolu- 
tion, and,  to  the  extent  of  his  ability,  muzzling 
the  cannon  which  thunders  its  annual  joyous 
return.  When  he  invites  any  people,  willing  to 
have  slavery,  to  establish  it,  he  is  blowing  out 
the  moral  lights  around  us.  When  he  says  he 
'  cares  not  whether  slavery  is  voted  down  or 
voted  up,'  —  that  it  is  a  sacred  right  of  self-govern- 
ment, —  he  is,  in  my  judgment,  penetrating  the 
human  soul  and  eradicating  the  light  of  reason 
and  the  love  of  liberty  in  this  American  people. 
And  now  I  will  only  say,  that  when,  by  all  these 
means  and  appliances,  Judge  Douglas  shall  suc- 
ceed in  bringing  public  sentiment  to  an  exact 
accordance  with  his  own  views ;  when  these 
vast  assemblages  shall  echo  back  all  these  senti- 
ments ;  when  they  shall  come  to  repeat  his 
views  and  avow  his  principles,  and  to  say  all  that 
he  says  on  these  mighty  questions, —  then  it  needs 
only  the  formality  of  a  second  Dred  Scott  deci- 
sion, which  he  indorses  in  advance,  to  make  slav- 
ery alike  lawful  in  all  the  States,  old  as  well  as 
new,  North  as  well  as  South." 


142  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

FROM  THE  DEBATE  AT  FREEPORT,  ILLINOIS. 

August  27,  1858. 

[NOTE.  —  Mr.  Lincoln  had  often  said  that  the 
answer  of  Judge  Douglas  to  his  question  whether 
under  the  Dred  Scott  decision  the  people  of  a 
Territory  could  exclude  slavery  from  it  before  a 
State  constitution  was  formed,  would  ruin  his 
prospects  as  a  candidate  for  the  presidency.  If 
he  answered  that  they  could,  it  would  ruin  him 
at  the  South ;  if  he  said  they  could  not,  it  would 
destroy  his  prospects  in  the  free  States.  It  was 
the  opinion  of  Elihu  B.  Washburne,  in  whose 
district  the  Freeport  meeting  was  held,  that  his 
answers  to  this  and  other  questions  of  Mr.  Lincoln 
"sounded  the  political  death-knell  of  Judge 
Douglas."  His  answer  was  that  in  his  opinion 
"  the  people  of  a  Territory  can,  by  lawful  means, 
exclude  slavery  from  their  limits  prior  to  the  for- 
mation of  a  State  constitution."  This  answer, 
which  denied  the  effect  of  the  Dred  Scott  deci- 
sion, as  claimed  by  the  Democracy  of  the  South, 
wrought  the  ruin  predicted  for  it.  This  fact 
gives  a  greater  importance  to  the  meeting  at 
Freeport  than  to  all  the  meetings  subsequently 
held. 

In  his  opening  speech  at  Freeport,  Mr.  Lincoln 
made  direct  answers  to  the  seven  questions  which 
Judge  Douglas  had  put  to  him  at  Ottawa,  with 
such  explanations  as  served  to  make  his  answers 
more  full  and  explicit.  His  four  questions  to 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  143 

Judge  Douglas  involved  the  decision  in  the  Dred 
Scott  case,  and  required  him  to  answer  whether 
he  would  vote  to  admit  Kansas  without  waiting 
for  the  number  of  inhabitants  required  by  the 
English  bill ;  whether  the  people  of  a  Territory 
could  in  any  lawful  way  exclude  slavery  from  its 
limits ;  whether  if  the  Supreme  Court  should 
decide  that  a  State  could  not  exclude  slavery,  he 
would  acquiesce  in  and  follow  such  decision  as  a 
rule  of  political  action ;  and  whether  he  was  in 
favour  of  acquiring  additional  territory,  in  dis- 
regard of  how  such  acquisition  would  affect  the 
slavery  question.  Then,  after  correcting  some  er- 
roneous statements  of  fact  made  by  his  adversary, 
he  said  :  — ] 

"...  I  have  been  in  the  habit  of  charging,  as 
a  matter  of  belief  on  my  part,  that,  in  the  intro- 
duction of  the  Nebraska  Bill  into  Congress,  there 
was  a  conspiracy  to  make  slavery  perpetual  and 
national.  I  have  arranged,  from  time  to  time, 
the  evidence  which  establishes  and  proves  the 
truth  of  this  charge.  I  recurred  to  this  charge 
at  Ottawa.  I  shall  not  now  have  time  to  dwell 
upon  it  at  any  great  length ;  but  inasmuch  as 
Judge  Douglas,  in  his  reply  of  half  an  hour,  made 
some  points  upon  me  in  relation  to  it,  I  propose 
noticing  a  few  of  them. 

"  The  Judge  insists  that  in  the  first  speech  I 
made,  in  which  I  very  distinctly  made  that  charge, 


144  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

he  thought  for  a  good  while  that  I  was  in  fun, 
that  I  was  playful,  that  I  was  not  sincere  about 
it ;  and  that  he  only  grew  angry  and  somewhat  ex- 
cited when  he  found  that  I  insisted  upon  it  as  a 
matter  of  earnestness.  He  says  he  characterised 
it  as  a  falsehood,  as  far  as  I  implicated  his  moral 
character  in  that  transaction.  Well,  I  did  not 
know,  till  he  presented  that  view,  that  I  had  im- 
plicated his  moral  character.  He  is  very  much 
in  the  habit  when  he  argues  me  up  into  a  position 
I  never  thought  of  occupying,  of  very  cosily  say- 
ing he  has  no  doubt  Lincoln  is  '  conscientious  '  in 
that  matter.  I  can  conceive  it  possible  for  men 
to  conspire  to  do  a  good  thing,  and  I  really  find 
nothing  in  Judge  Douglas's  course  of  arguments 
that  is  contrary  to  or  inconsistent  with  his  belief 
of  a  conspiracy  to  nationalize  and  spread  slavery 
as  being  a  good  and  blessed  thing,  and  so  I  hope 
he  will  understand  that  I  do  not  question  but  that 
in  all  this  matter  he  is  entirely  '  conscientious.' 

"  But  to  draw  your  attention  to  one  of  the 
points  I  made  in  this  case,  beginning  at  the  be- 
ginning :  when  the  Nebraska  Bill  was  introduced, 
or  a  short  time  afterward,  by  an  amendment,  I 
believe,  it  was  provided  that  it  must  be  con- 
sidered '  the  true  intent  and  meaning  of  this  act 
not  to  legislate  slavery  into  any  State  or  Terri- 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  145 

tory,  or  to  exclude  it  therefrom,  but  to  leave  the 
people  thereof  perfectly  free  to  form  and  regulate 
their  domestic  institutions  in  their  own  way,  sub- 
ject only  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.' 
I  have  called  his  attention  to  the  fact  that  when 
he  and  some  others  began  arguing  that  they  were 
giving  an  increased  degree  of  liberty  to  the  people 
in  the  Territories  over  and  above  what  they  for- 
merly had  on  the  question  of  slavery,  a  question 
was  raised  whether  the  law  was  enacted  to  give 
such  unconditional  liberty  to  the  people ;  and  to 
test  the  sincerity  of  this  mode  of  argument,  Mr. 
Chase,  of  Ohio,  introduced  an  amendment  in 
which  he  made  the  law  —  if  the  amendment 
were  adopted  —  expressly  declare  that  the  people 
of  the  Territory  should  have  the  power  to  exclude 
slavery  if  they  saw  fit.  I  have  asked  attention 
also  to  the  fact  that  Judge  Douglas  and  those  who 
acted  with  him  voted  that  amendment  down,  not- 
withstanding it  expressed  exactly  the  thing  they 
said  was  the  true  intent  and  meaning  of  the  law. 
I  have  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  in  subse- 
quent times  a  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court 
has  been  made,  in  which  it  has  been  declared 
that  a  Territorial  Legislature  has  no  constitutional 
right  to  exclude  slavery.  And  I  have  argued  and 
said  that  for  men  who  did  intend  that  the  people 
10 


146  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

of  the  Territory  should  have  the  right  to  exclude 
slavery  absolutely  and  unconditionally,  the  voting 
down  of  Chase's  amendment  is  wholly  inexpli- 
cable. It  is  a  puzzle  —  a  riddle.  But  I  have 
said  that  with  men  who  did  look  forward  to  such 
a  decision,  or  who  had  it  in  contemplation  that 
such  a  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  would  or 
might  be  made,  the  voting  down  of  that  amend- 
ment would  be  perfectly  rational  and  intelligible. 
It  would  keep  Congress  from  coming  in  collision 
with  the  decision  when  it  was  made.  Anybody 
can  conceive  that  if  there  was  an  intention  or 
expectation  that  such  a  decision  was  to  follow, 
it  would  not  be  a  very  desirable  party  attitude 
to  get  into  for  the  Supreme  Court  —  all,  or  nearly 
all  its  members  belonging  to  the  same  party  —  to 
decide  one  way,  when  the  party  in  Congress  had 
decided  the  other  way.  Hence  it  would  be  very 
rational  for  men  expecting  such  a  decision  to 
keep  the  niche  in  that  law  clear  for  it.  After 
pointing  this  out,  I  tell  Judge  Douglas  that  it 
looks  to  me  as  though  here  was  the  reason  why 
Chase's  amendment  was  voted  down.  I  tell  him 
that  as  he  did  it,  and  knows  why  he  did  it,  if  it 
was  done  for  a  reason  different  from  this,  he 
knows  what  that  reason  was,  and  can  tell  us  what 
it  was.  I  tell  him,  also,  it  will  be  vastly  more 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  147 

satisfactory  to  the  country  for  him  to  give  some 
other  plausible,  intelligible  reason  why  it  was 
voted  down,  than  to  stand  upon  his  dignity  and 
call  people  liars.  ..." 

IN  MR.  LINCOLN'S  REJOINDER  TO  JUDGE  DOUGLAS 
AT  FREEPORT,  among  other  things,  he  said  :  — 

"...  At  the  introduction  of  the  Nebraska  policy, 
we  believed  there  was  a  new  era  being  introduced 
in  the  history  of  the  Republic,  which  tended  to  the 
spread  and  perpetuation  of  slavery.  But  in  our 
opposition  to  that  measure  we  did  not  agree  with 
one  another  in  everything.  The  people  in  the 
north  end  of  the  State  were  for  stronger  measures 
of  opposition  than  we  of  the  southern  and  central 
portions  of  the  State,  but  we  were  all  opposed  to 
the  Nebraska  doctrine.  We  had  that  one  feel- 
ing and  one  sentiment  in  common.  You  at  the 
north  end  met  in  your  conventions,  and  passed 
your  resolutions.  We  in  the  middle  of  the  State 
and  further  south  did  not  hold  such  conventions 
and  pass  the  same  resolutions,  although  we  had 
in  general  a  common  view  and  a  common  senti- 
ment. So  that  these  meetings  which  the  Judge 
has  alluded  to,  and  the  resolutions  he  has  read 
from,  were  local,  and  did  not  spread  over  the 
whole  State.  We  at  last  met  together  in  1856, 


148  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

from  all  parts  of  the  State,  and  we  agreed  upon  a 
common  platform.  You  who  held  more  extreme 
notions,  either  yielded  those  notions,  or  if  not 
wholly  yielding  them,  agreed  to  yield  them  prac- 
tically, for  the  sake  of  embodying  the  opposition 
to  the  measures  which  the  opposite  party  were 
pushing  forward  at  that  time.  We  met  you  then, 
and  if  there  was  anything  yielded,  it  was  for  prac- 
tical purposes.  We  agreed  then  upon  a  platform 
for  the  party  throughout  the  entire  State  of  Illi- 
nois, and  now  we  are  all  bound  as  a  party  to  that 
platform.  And  I  say  here  to  you,  if  any  one 
expects  of  me  in  the  case  of  my  election,  that  I 
will  do  anything  not  signified  by  our  Republican 
platform  and  my  answers  here  to-day,  I  tell  you 
very  frankly,  that  person  will  be  deceived.  I  do 
not  ask  for  the  vote  of  any  one  who  supposes 
that  I  have  secret  purposes  or  pledges  that  I  dare 
not  speak  out.  ...  If  I  should  never  be  elected 
to  any  office,  I  trust  I  may  go  down  with  no  stain 
of  falsehood  upon  my  reputation,  notwithstand- 
ing the  hard  opinions  Judge  Douglas  chooses  to 
entertain  of  me.  .  .  " 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  149 

FROM  MR.  LINCOLN'S  REPLY  AT  JONESBORO. 

September  15,  1858. 

"...  I  hold  myself  under  constitutional  obli- 
gations to  allow  the  people  in  all  the  States,  with- 
out interference,  direct  or  indirect,  to  do  exactly 
as  they  please,  and  I  deny  that  I  have  any  incli- 
nation to  interfere  with  them,  even  if  there  were 
no  such  constitutional  obligation.  I  can  only 
say  again  that  I  am  placed  improperly  —  alto- 
gether improperly,  in  spite  of  all  that  I  can  say  — 
when  it  is  insisted  that  I  entertain  any  other  view 
or  purpose  in  regard  to  that  matter. 

"While  I  am  upon  this  subject,  I  will  make 
some  answers  briefly  to  certain  propositions  that 
Judge  Douglas  has  put.  He  says,  '  Why  can't 
this  Union  endure  permanently  half  slave  and 
half  free  ?  '  I  have  said  that  I  supposed  it  could 
not,  and  I  will  try,  before  this  new  audience,  to 
give  briefly  some  of  the  reasons  for  entertaining 
that  opinion.  Another  form  of  his  question  is, 
'  Why  can't  we  let  it  stand  as  our  fathers  placed 
it  ? '  That  is  the  exact  difficulty  between  us.  I 
say  that  Judge  Douglas  and  his  friends  have 
changed  it  from  the  position  in  which  our 
fathers  originally  placed  it.  I  say  in  the  way 
our  fathers  originally  left  the  slavery  question, 


ISO  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

the  institution  was  in  the  course  of  ultimate  ex- 
tinction. I  say  when  this  government  was  first 
established,  it  was  the  policy  of  its  founders  to 
prohibit  the  spread  of  slavery  into  the  new  Terri- 
tories of  the  United  States  where  it  had  not  ex- 
isted. But  Judge  Douglas  and  his  friends  have 
broken  up  that  policy,  and  placed  it  upon  a  new 
basis,  by  which  it  is  to  become  national  and  per- 
petual. All  I  have  asked  or  desired  anywhere  is 
that  it  should  be  placed  back  again  upon  the 
basis  that  the  fathers  of  our  government  originally 
placed  it  upon.  I  have  no  doubt  that  it  would 
become  extinct  for  all  time  to  come,  if  we  had 
but  readopted  the  policy  of  the  fathers  by  re- 
stricting it  to  the  limits  it  has  already  covered  — 
restricting  it  from  the  new  Territories. 

"  I  do  not  wish  to  dwell  on  this  branch  of  the 
subject  at  great  length  at  this  time,  but  allow  me 
to  repeat  one  thing  that  I  have  stated  before. 
Brooks,  the  man  who  assaulted  Senator  Sumner 
on  the  floor  of  the  Senate,  and  who  was  com- 
plimented with  dinners  and  silver  pitchers  and 
gold-headed  canes,  and  a  good  many  other  things 
for  that  feat,  in  one  of  his  speeches  declared  that 
when  this  government  was  originally  established, 
nobody  expected  that  the  institution  of  slavery 
would  last  until  this  day.  That  was  but  the 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.'  151 

opinion  of  one  man,  but  it  is  such  an  opinion  as 
we  can  never  get  from  Judge  Douglas  or  anybody 
in  favour  of  slavery  in  the  North  at  all.  You  can 
sometimes  get  it  from  a  Southern  man.  He  said 
at  the  same  time  that  the  framers  of  our  govern- 
ment did  not  have  the  knowledge  that  experience 
has  taught  us  —  that  experience  and  the  invention 
of  the  cotton  gin  have  taught  us  that  the  perpetu- 
ation of  slavery  is  a  necessity.  He  insisted  there- 
fore upon  its  being  changed  from  the  basis  upon 
which  the  fathers  of  the  government  left  it  to  the 
basis  of  perpetuation  and  nationalization. 

"  I  insist  that  this  is  the  difference  between 
Judge  Douglas  and  myself — that  Judge  Douglas 
is  helping  the  change  along.  I  insist  upon  this 
government  being  placed  where  our  fathers 
originally  placed  it. 

"...  When  he  asks  me  why  we  cannot  get 
along  with  it  [slavery]  in  the  attitude  where  our 
fathers  placed  it,  he  had  better  clear  up  the  evi- 
dences that  he  has  himself  changed  it  from  that 
basis ;  that  he  has  himself  been  chiefly  instru- 
mental in  changing  the  policy  of  the  fathers. 
Any  one  who  will  read  his  speech  of  the  twenty- 
second  of  March  last,  will  see  that  he  there  makes 
an  open  confession,  showing  that  he  set  about 
fixing  the  institution  upon  an  altogether  different 
set  of  principles.  .  .  . 


I  $2  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

"  Now,  fellow-citizens,  in  regard  to  this  matter 
about  a  contract  between  myself  and  Judge  Trum- 
bull  ...  I  wish  simply  to  say,  what  I  have  said 
to  him  before,  that  he  cannot  know  whether  it  is 
true  or  not,  and  I  do  know  that  there  is  not  a 
word  of  truth  in  it.  And  I  have  told  him  so 
before.  I  don't  want  any  harsh  language  indulged 
in,  but  I  do  not  know  how  to  deal  with  this  per- 
sistent insisting  on  a  story  that  I  know  to  be 
utterly  without  truth.  It  used  to  be  the  fashion 
amongst  men  that  when  a  charge  was  made,  some 
sort  of  proof  was  brought  forward  to  establish  it, 
and  if  no  proof  was  found  to  exist  it  was  dropped. 
I  don't  know  how  to  meet  this  kind  of  an  argu- 
ment. I  don't  want  to  have  a  fight  with  Judge 
Douglas,  and  I  have  no  way  of  making  an  argu- 
ment up  into  the  consistency  of  a  corn-cob  and 
stopping  his  mouth  with  it.  All  I  can  do  is  good- 
humouredly  to  say,  that  from  the  beginning  to  the 
end  of  all  that  story  about  a  bargain  between 
Judge  Trumbull  and  myself,  there  is  not  a  word 
of  truth  in  it.  ... 

"When  that  compromise  [of  1850]  was  made, 
it  did  not  repeal  the  old  Missouri  Compromise. 
It  left  a  region  of  United  States  territory  half  as 
large  as  the  present  territory  of  the  United  States, 
north  of  the  line  of  36°  30',  in  which  slavery  was 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  153 

prohibited  by  act  of  Congress.  This  compromise 
did  not  repeal  that  one.  It  did  not  affect  nor 
propose  to  repeal  it.  But  at  last  it  became  Judge 
Douglas's  duty,  as  he  thought  (and  I  find  no 
fault  with  him),  as  chairman  of  the  Committee 
on  Territories,  to  bring  in  a  bill  for  the  organi- 
sation of  a  territorial  government  —  first  of  one, 
then  of  two  Territories  north  of  that  line.  When 
he  did  so,  it  ended  in  his  inserting  a  provision 
substantially  repealing  the  Missouri  Compromise. 
That  was  because  the  Compromise  of  1850  had 
not  repealed  it.  And  now  I  ask  why  he  could 
not  have  left  that  compromise  alone?  We  were 
quiet  from  the  agitation  of  the  slavery  question. 
We  were  making  no  fuss  about  it.  All  had  ac- 
quiesced in  the  compromise  measures  of  1850. 
We  never  had  been  seriously  disturbed  by  any 
Abolition  agitation  before  that  period.  ...  I 
close  this  part  of  the  discussion  on  my  part  by 
asking  him  the  question  again,  Why,  when  we 
had  peace  under  the  Missouri  Compromise,  could 
you  not  have  let  it  alone  ? 

"...  He  tries  to  persuade  us  that  there  must 
be  a  variety  in  the  different  institutions  of  the 
States  of  the  Union ;  that  that  variety  necessarily 
proceeds  from  the  variety  of  soil,  climate,  of  the 
face  of  the  country,  and  the  difference  of  the 


154  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

natural  features  of  the  States.  I  agree  to  all  that. 
Have  these  very  matters  ever  produced  any  diffi- 
culty amongst  us?  Not  at  all.  Have  we  ever 
had  any  quarrel  over  the  fact  that  they  have  laws 
in  Louisiana  designed  to  regulate  the  commerce 
that  springs  from  the  production  of  sugar,  or 
because  we  have  a  different  class  relative  to  the 
production  of  flour  in  this  State?  Have  they 
produced  any  differences  ?  Not  at  all.  They  are 
the  very  cements  of  this  Union.  They  don't 
make  the  house  a  house  divided  against  itself. 
They  are  the  props  that  hold  up  the  house  and 
sustain  the  Union. 

But  has  it  been  so  with  this  element  of  slavery  ? 
Have  we  not  always  had  quarrels  and  difficulties 
over  it?  And  when  will  we  cease  to  have  quar- 
rels over  it?  Like  causes  produce  like  effects. 
It  is  worth  while  to  observe  that  we  have  gener- 
ally had  comparative  peace  upon  the  slavery 
question,  and  that  there  has  been  no  cause  for 
alarm  until  it  was  excited  by  the  effort  to  spread 
it  into  new  territory.  Whenever  it  has  been  lim- 
ited to  its  present  bounds,  and  there  has  been  no 
effort  to  spread  it,  there  has  been  peace.  All  the 
trouble  and  convulsion  has  proceeded  from  efforts 
to  spread  it  over  more  territory.  It  was  thus  at 
the  date  of  the  Missouri  Compromise.  It  was 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  155 

so  again  with  the  annexation  of  Texas ;  so  with 
the  territory  acquired  by  the  Mexican  War ;  and 
it  is  so  now.  Whenever  there  has  been  an  effort 
to  spread  it,  there  has  been  agitation  and  resis- 
tance. Now,  I  appeal  to  this  audience  (very 
few  of  whom  are  my  political  friends) ,  as  rational 
men,  whether  we  have  reason  to  expect  that  the 
agitation  in  regard  to  this  subject  will  cease  while 
the  causes  that  tend  to  reproduce  agitation  are 
actively  at  work?  Will  not  the  same  cause  that 
produced  agitation  in  1820,  when  the  Missouri 
Compromise  was  formed,  —  that  which  produced 
the  agitation  upon  the  annexation  of  Texas,  and  at 
other  times,  —  work  out  the  same  results  always  ? 
Do  you  think  that  the  nature  of  man  will  be 
changed ;  that  the  same  causes  that  produced 
agitation  at  one  time  will  not  have  the  same  effect 
at  another? 

"  This  has  been  the  result  so  far  as  my  obser- 
vation of  the  slavery  question  and  my  reading  in 
history  extend.  What  right  have  we  then  to  hope 
that  the  trouble  will  cease,  that  the  agitation  will 
come  to  an  end,  until  it  shall  either  be  placed 
back  where  it  originally  stood,  and  where  the 
fathers  originally  placed  it,  or,  on  the  other  hand, 
until  it  shall  entirely  master  all  opposition  ?  This 
is  the  view  I  entertain,  and  this  is  the  reason  why 


1 56  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

I  entertained  it,  as  Judge  Douglas  has  read  from 
my  Springfield  speech. 

"...  At  Freeport  I  answered  several  interro- 
gatories that  had  been  propounded  to  me  by  Judge 
Douglas  at  the  Ottawa  meeting.  ...  At  the  same 
time  I  propounded  four  interrogatories  to  him, 
claiming  it  as  a  right  that  he  should  answer  as 
many  for  me  as  I  did  for  him,  and  I  would  re- 
serve myself  for  a  future  instalment  when  I  got 
them  ready.  The  Judge,  in  answering  me  upon 
that  occasion,  put  in  what  I  suppose  he  intends 
as  answers  to  all  four  of  my  interrogatories.  The 
first  one  of  these  I  have  before  me,  and  it  is  in 
these  words :  — 

"  Question  i.  If  the  people  of  Kansas  shall  by  means  en- 
tirely unobjectionable  in  all  other  respects,  adopt  a  State 
constitution  and  ask  admission  into  the  Union  under  it, 
before  they  have  the  requisite  number  of  inhabitants  ac- 
cording to  the  English  bill  — some  93,000  —  will  you  vote 
to  admit  them  ? 

"As  I  read  the  Judge's  answer  in  the  news- 
paper, and  as  I  remember  it  as  pronounced  at 
the  time,  he  does  not  give  any  answer  which  is 
equivalent  to  yes  or  no,  —  I  will  or  I  won't.  He 
answers  at  very  considerable  length,  rather  quar- 
relling with  me  for  asking  the  question,  and  in- 
sisting that  Judge  Trumbull  had  done  something 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  157 

that  I  ought  to  say  something  about ;  and  finally, 
getting  out  such  statements  as  induce  me  to  infer 
that  he  means  to  be  understood,  he  will,  in  that 
supposed  case,  vote  for  the  admission  of  Kansas. 
I  only  bring  this  forward  now,  for  the  purpose  of 
saying  that,  if  he  chooses  to  put  a  different  con- 
struction upon  his  answer,  he  may  do  it.  But  if 
he  does  not,  I  shall  from  this  time  forward  as- 
sume that  he  will  vote  for  the  admission  of  Kansas 
in  disregard  of  the  English  bill.  He  has  the  right 
to  remove  any  misunderstanding  I  may  have.  I 
only  mention  it  now,  that  I  may  hereafter  assume 
this  to  have  been  the  true  construction  of  his 
answer,  if  he  does  not  now  choose  to  correct  me. 
"  The  second  interrogatory  I  propounded  to 
him  was  this  :  — 

"Question  2.  Can  the  people  of  a  United  States  Territory 
in  any  lawful  way,  against  the  wish  of  any  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  exclude  slavery  from  its  limits  prior  to  the 
formation  of  a  State  constitution  ? 

"  To  this  Judge  Douglas  answered  that  they 
can  lawfully  exclude  slavery  from  the  Territory 
prior  to  the  formation  of  a  constitution.  He  goes 
on  to  tell  us  how  it  can  be  done.  As  I  under- 
stand him,  he  holds  that  it  can  be  done  by  the 
territorial  legislature  refusing  to  make  any  enact- 
ments for  the  protection  of  slavery  in  the  Ter- 


158  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

ritory,  and  especially  by  adopting  unfriendly 
legislation  to  it.  For  the  sake  of  clearness,  I 
state  it  again :  that  they  can  exclude  slavery 
from  the  Territory,  —  first,  by  withholding  what 
he  assumes  to  be  an  indispensable  assistance  to 
it  in  the  way  of  legislation ;  and  second,  by  un- 
friendly legislation.  If  I  rightly  understand  him, 
I  wish  to  ask  your  attention  for  a  while  to  his 
position. 

"  In  the  first  place,  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States  has  decided  that  any  congressional 
prohibition  of  slavery  in  the  Territories  is  uncon- 
stitutional :  they  have  reached  this  proposition 
as  a  conclusion  from  their  former  proposition  that 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  expressly 
recognises  property  in  slaves ;  and  from  that 
other  constitutional  provision  that  no  person  shall 
be  deprived  of  property  without  due  process  of 
law.  Hence  they  reach  the  conclusion  that  as  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  expressly  recog- 
nises property  in  slaves,  and  prohibits  any  person 
from  being  deprived  of  property  without  due 
process  of  law,  to  pass  an  act  of  Congress  by 
which  a  man  who  owned  a  slave  on  one  side  of 
a  line  would  be  deprived  of  him  if  he  took  him 
on  the  other  side,  is  depriving  him  of  that  prop- 
erty without  due  process  of  law.  That  I  under- 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  159 

stand  to  be  the  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court. 
I  understand  also  that  Judge  Douglas  adheres 
most  firmly  to  that  decision ;  and  the  difficulty 
is,  how  is  it  possible  for  any  power  to  exclude 
slavery  from  the  Territory  unless  in  violation  of 
that  decision?  That  is  the  difficulty. 

"In  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  in  1856, 
Judge  Trumbull  in  a  speech,  substantially  if  not 
directly,  put  the  same  interrogatory  to  Judge 
Douglas,  as  to  whether  the  people  of  a  Territory 
had  the  lawful  power  to  exclude  slavery  prior  to 
the  formation  of  a  constitution?  Judge  Douglas 
then  answered  at  considerable  length,  and  his 
answer  will  be  found  in  the  '  Congressional 
Globe,'  under  date  of  June  9,  1856.  The  Judge 
said  that  whether  the  people  could  exclude  slav- 
ery prior  to  the  formation  of  a  constitution  or 
not,  was  a  question  to  be  decided  by  the  Supreme 
Court.  He  put  that  proposition,  as  will  be  seen 
by  the  '  Congressional  Globe,'  in  a  variety  of 
forms,  all  running  to  the  same  thing  in  substance, 
—  that  it  was  a  question  for  the  Supreme  Court. 
I  maintain  that  when  he  says,  after  the  Supreme 
Court  has  decided  the  question,  that  the  people 
may  yet  exclude  slavery  by  any  means  whatever, 
he  does  virtually  say  that  it  is  not  a  question  for 
the  Supreme  Court.  He  shifts  his  ground.  I 


160  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

appeal  to  you  whether  he  did  not  say  it  was  a 
question  for  the  Supreme  Court?  Has  not  the 
Supreme  Court  decided  that  question?  When 
he  now  says  that  the  people  may  exclude  slavery, 
does  he  not  make  it  a  question  for  the  people  ? 
Does  he  not  virtually  shift  his  ground  and  say  that 
it  is  not  a  question  for  the  court,  but  for  the 
people  ?  This  is  a  very  simple  proposition,  —  a 
very  plain  and  naked  one.  It  seems  to  me  that 
there  is  no  difficulty  in  deciding  it.  In  a  variety 
of  ways  he  said  that  it  was  a  question  for  the 
Supreme  Court.  He  did  not  stop  then  to  tell  us 
that,  whatever  the  Supreme  Court  decides,  the 
people  can  by  withholding  necessary  'police 
regulations  '  keep  slavery  out.  He  did  not  make 
any  such  answer.  I  submit  to  you  now,  whether 
the  new  state  of  the  case  has  not  induced  the 
Judge  to  sheer  away  from  his  original  ground  ? 
Would  not  this  be  the  impression  of  every  fair- 
minded  man? 

"  I  hold  that  the  proposition  that  slavery  cannot 
enter  a  new  country  without  police  regulations  is 
historically  false.  It  is  not  true  at  all.  I  hold 
that  the  history  of  this  country  shows  that  the 
institution  of  slavery  was  originally  planted  upon 
this  continent  without  these  '  police  regulations  ' 
which  the  Judge  now  thinks  necessary  for  the 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  l6l 

actual  establishment  of  it.  Not  only  so,  but  is 
there  not  another  fact,  —  how  came  this  Dred 
Scott  decision  to  be  made  ?  It  was  made  upon 
the  case  of  a  negro  being  taken  and  actually  held 
in  slavery  in  Minnesota  Territory,  claiming  his 
freedom  because  the  act  of  Congress  prohibited 
his  being  so  held  there.  Will  the  Judge  pretend 
that  Dred  Scott  was  not  held  there  without  police 
regulations  ?  There  is  at  least  one  matter  of  record 
as  to  his  having  been  held  in  slavery  in  the  Ter- 
ritory, not  only  without  police  regulations,  but  in 
the  teeth  of  congressional  legislation  supposed 
to  be  valid  at  the  time.  This  shows  that  there 
is  vigour  enough  in  slavery  to  plant  itself  in  a  new 
country,  even  against  unfriendly  legislation.  It 
takes  not  only  law,  but  the  enforcement  of  law 
to  keep  it  out.  That  is  the  history  of  this  country 
upon  the  subject. 

"  I  wish  to  ask  one  other  question.  It  being 
understood  that  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  guarantees  property  in  slaves  in  the  Terri- 
tories, if  there  is  any  infringement  of  the  right  of 
that  property,  would  not  the  United  States  courts, 
organised  for  the  government  of  the  Territory, 
apply  such  remedy  as  might  be  necessary  in  that 
case  ?  It  is  a  maxim  held  by  the  courts  that  there 
is  no  wrong  without  its  remedy ;  and  the  courts 
ii 


1 62  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

have  a  remedy  for  whatever  is  acknowledged  and 
treated  as  a  wrong. 

"  Again :  I  will  ask  you,  my  friends,  if  you  were 
elected  members  of  the  legislature,  what  would 
be  the  first  thing  you  would  have  to  do  before 
entering  upon  your  duties?  Swear  to  support 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  Suppose 
you  believe  as  Judge  Douglas  does,  that  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States  guarantees  to  your 
neighbour  the  right  to  hold  slaves  in  that  Terri- 
tory, —  that  they  are  his  property,  —  how  can  you 
clear  your  oaths  unless  you  give  him  such  legisla- 
tion as  is  necessary  to  enable  him  to  enjoy  that 
property?  What  do  you  understand  by  support- 
ing the  Constitution  of  a  State  or  of  the  United 
States?  Is  it  not  to  give  such  constitutional 
helps  to  the  rights  established  by  that  Constitution 
as  may  be  practically  needed  ?  Can  you,  if  you 
swear  to  support  the  Constitution  and  believe  that 
the  Constitution  establishes  a  right,  clear  your 
oath  without  giving  it  support?  Do  you  support 
the  Constitution  if,  knowing  or  believing  there  is 
a  right  established  under  it  which  needs  specific 
legislation,  you  withhold  that  legislation  ?  Do  you 
not  violate  and  disregard  your  oath?  I  can  con- 
ceive of  nothing  plainer  in  the  world.  There  can 
be  nothing  in  the  words  '  support  the  Constitu- 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  163 

tion,'  if  you  may  run  counter  to  it  by  refusing 
support  to  any  right  established  under  the  Con- 
stitution. And  what  I  say  here  will  hold  with 
still  more  force  against  the  Judge's  doctrine  of 
'  unfriendly  legislation.'  How  could  you,  having 
sworn  to  support  the  Constitution,  and  believing 
that  it  guaranteed  the  right  to  hold  slaves  in  the 
Territories,  assist  in  legislation  intended  to  defeat 
that  right?  That  would  be  violating  your  own 
view  of  the  Constitution.  Not  only  so,  but  if  you 
were  to  do  so,  how  long  would  it  take  the  courts 
to  hold  your  votes  unconstitutional  and  void? 
Not  a  moment. 

"  Lastly,  I  would  ask,  is  not  Congress  itself  under 
obligation  to  give  legislative  support  to  any  right 
that  is  established  under  the  United  States  Con- 
stitution ?  I  repeat  the  question,  is  not  Congress 
itself  bound  to  give  legislative  support  to  any  right 
that  is  established  in  the  United  States  Constitu- 
tion? A  member  of  Congress  swears  to  support 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  if  he 
sees  a  right  established  by  that  Constitution  which 
needs  specific  legislative  protection,  can  he  clear 
his  oath  without  giving  that  protection?  Let  me 
ask  you  why  many  of  us,  who  are  opposed  to  slav- 
ery upon  principle,  give  our  acquiescence  to  a 
fugitive-slave  law?  Why  do  we  hold  ourselves 


1 64  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 

under  obligations  to  pass  such  a  law,  and  abide 
by  it  when  passed?  Because  the  Constitution 
makes  provision  that  the  owners  of  slaves  shall 
have  the  right  to  reclaim  them.  It  gives  the 
right  to  reclaim  slaves;  and  that  right  is,  as 
Judge  Douglas  says,  a  barren  right,  unless  there 
is  legislation  that  will  enforce  it. 

"  The  mere  declaration,  '  No  person  held  to 
service  or  labour  in  one  State,  under  the  laws 
thereof,  escaping  into  another,  shall,  in  conse- 
quence of  any  law  or  regulation  therein,  be  dis- 
charged from  such  service  or  labour,  but  shall  be 
delivered  up  on  claim  of  the  party  to  whom  such 
service  or  labour  may  be  due,'  is  powerless  without 
specific  legislation  to  enforce  it.  Now,  on  what 
ground  would  a  member  of  Congress  who  is  op- 
posed to  slavery  in  the  abstract,  vote  for  a  fugitive 
law,  as  I  would  deem  it  my  duty  to  do?  Be7 
cause  there  is  a  constitutional  right  which  needs 
legislation  to  enforce  it.  And,  although  it  is  dis- 
tasteful to  me,  I  have  sworn  to  support  the  Con- 
stitution ;  and,  having  so  sworn,  I  cannot  conceive 
that  I  do  support  it  if  I  withhold  from  that  right 
any  necessary  legislation  to  make  it  practical. 
And  if  that  is  true  in  regard  to  a  fugitive -slave 
law,  is  the  right  to  have  fugitive  slaves  reclaimed 
any  better  fixed  in  the  Constitution  than  the  right 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  165 

to  hold  slaves  in  the  Territories?  For  this  deci- 
sion is  a  just  exposition  of  the  Constitution,  as 
Judge  Douglas  thinks.  Is  the  one  right  any 
better  than  the  other?  If  I  wished  to  refuse  to 
give  legislative  support  to  slave  property  in  the 
Territories,  if  a  member  of  Congress,  I  could 
not  do  it,  holding  the  view  that  the  Constitution 
establishes  that  right.  If  I  did  it  at  all,  it  would 
be  because  I  deny  that  this  decision  properly 
construes  the  Constitution.  But  if  I  acknowledge 
with  Judge  Douglas  that  this  decision  properly 
construes  the  Constitution,  I  cannot  conceive 
that  I  would  be  less  than  a  perjured  man  if  I 
should  refuse  in  Congress  to  give  such  protection 
to  that  property  as  in  its  nature  it  needed.  ..." 


FROM  MR.  LINCOLN'S  REJOINDER  TO  JUDGE  DOUG- 
LAS AT  CHARLESTOWN,  ILLINOIS. 

September  18,  1858. 

"  Judge  Douglas  has  said  to  you  that  he  has 
not  been  able  to  get  from  me  an  answer  to  the 
question  whether  I  am  in  favour  of  negro  citizen- 
ship. So  far  as  I  know,  the  Judge  never  asked 
me  the  question  before.  He  shall  have  no  occa- 
sion ever  to  ask  it  again,  for  I  tell  him  very 


1 66  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

frankly  that  I  am  not  in  favour  of  negro  citizen- 
ship. .  .  .  Now  my  opinion  is,  that  the  different 
States  have  the  power  to  make  a  negro  a  citizen 
under  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  if 
they  choose.  The  Dred  Scott  decision  decides 
that  they  have  not  that  power.  If  the  State  of 
Illinois  had  that  power,  I  should  be  opposed  to 
the  exercise  of  it.  ... 

"...  Judge  Douglas  has  told  me  that  he 
heard  my  speeches  north  and  my  speeches  south, 
.  .  .  and  there  was  a  very  different  cast  of  senti- 
ment in  the  speeches  made  at  the  different  points. 
I  will  not  charge  upon  Judge  Douglas  that  he 
wilfully  misrepresents  me,  but  I  call  upon  every 
fair-minded  man  to  take  these  speeches  and  read 
them,  and  I  dare  him  to  point  out  any  difference 
between  my  speeches  north  and  south.  While  I 
am  here,  perhaps  I  ought  to  say  a  word,  if  I  have 
the  time,  in  regard  to  the  latter  portion  of  the 
Judge's  speech,  which  was  a  sort  of  declamation 
in  reference  to  my  having  said  that  I  entertained 
the  belief  that  this  government  would  not  endure, 
half  slave  and  half  free.  I  have  said  so,  and  I 
did  not  say  it  without  what  seemed  to  me  good 
reasons.  It  perhaps  would  require  more  time 
than  I  have  now  to  set  forth  those  reasons  in  de- 
tail ;  but  let  me  ask  you  a  few  questions.  Have 
we  ever  had  any  peace  on  this  slavery  question? 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  167 

When  are  we  to  have  peace  upon  it  if  it  is  kept 
in  the  position  it  now  occupies?  How  are  we 
ever  to  have  peace  upon  it?  That  is  an  impor- 
tant question.  To  be  sure,  if  we  will  all  stop  and 
allow  Judge  Douglas  and  his  friends  to  march  on 
in  their  present  career  until  they  plant  the  insti- 
tution all  over  the  nation,  here  and  wherever  else 
our  flag  waves,  and  we  acquiesce  in  it,  there  will 
be  peace.  But  let  me  ask  Judge  Douglas  how  he 
is  going  to  get  the  people  to  do  that?  They 
have  been  wrangling  over  this  question  for  forty 
years.  This  was  the  cause  of  the  agitation  result- 
ing in  the  Missouri  Compromise ;  this  produced 
the  troubles  at  the  annexation  of  Texas,  in  the 
acquisition  of  the  territory  acquired  in  the  Mex- 
ican War.  Again,  this  was  the  trouble  quieted  by 
the  Compromise  of  1850,  when  it  was  settled 
'  for  ever,'  as  both  the  great  political  parties  de- 
clared in  their  national  conventions.  That  '  for 
ever  '  turned  out  to  be  just  four  years,  when  Judge 
Douglas  himself  reopened  it. 

"  When  is  it  likely  to  come  to  an  end  ?  He  in- 
troduced the  Nebraska  Bill  in  1854,  to  put  an- 
other end  to  the  slavery  agitation.  He  promised 
that  it  would  finish  it  all  up  immediately,  and  he 
has  never  made  a  speech  since,  until  he  got  into 
a  quarrel  with  the  President  about  the  Lecompton 
constitution,  in  which  he  has  not  declared  that 


168  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

we  are  just  at  the  end  of  the  slavery  agitation. 
But  in  one  speech,  I  think  last  winter,  he  did  say 
that  he  did  n't  quite  see  when  the  end  of  the 
slavery  agitation  would  come.  Now  he  tells  us 
again  that  it  is  all  over,  and  the  people  of  Kansas 
have  voted  down  the  Lecompton  constitution. 
How  is  it  over?  That  was  only  one  of  the  at- 
tempts to  put  an  end  to  the  slavery  agitation,  — 
one  of  these  '  final  settlements.'  Is  Kansas  in  the 
Union?  Has  she  formed  a  constitution  that  she 
is  likely  to  come  in  under?  Is  not  the  slavery 
agitation  still  an  open  question  in  that  Territory  ? 
...  If  Kansas  should  sink  to-day,  and  leave  a 
great  vacant  space  in  the  earth's  surface,  this 
vexed  question  would  still  be  among  us.  I  say, 
then,  there  is  no  way  of  putting  an  end  to  the 
slavery  agitation  amongst  us,  but  to  put  it  back 
upon  the  basis  where  our  fathers  placed  it ;  no 
way  but  to  keep  it  out  of  our  new  Territories,  — 
to  restrict  it  for  ever  to  the  old  States  where  it 
now  exists.  Then  the  public  mind  will  rest  in 
the  belief  that  it  is  in  the  course  of  ultimate 
extinction.  That  is  one  way  of  putting  an  end 
to  the  slavery  agitation. 

"  The  other  way  is  for  us  to  surrender,  and  let 
Judge  Douglas  and  his  friends  have  their  way, 
and  plant  slavery  over  all  the  States."  .  .  . 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  169 

FROM  MR.  LINCOLN'S  REPLY  TO  JUDGE  DOUGLAS 
AT  GALESBURG,  ILLINOIS. 

October  7,  1858. 

"...  The  Judge  has  alluded  to  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  and  insisted  that  negroes 
are  not  included  in  that  Declaration ;  and  that  it 
is  a  slander  on  the  framers  of  that  instrument 
to  suppose  that  negroes  were  meant  therein  ;  and 
he  asks  you,  Is  it  possible  to  believe  that  Mr. 
Jefferson,  who  penned  that  immortal  paper,  could 
have  supposed  himself  applying  the  language  of 
that  instrument  to  the  negro  race,  and  yet  held 
a  portion  of  that  race  in  slavery  ?  Would  he  not 
at  once  have  freed  them  ?  I  only  have  to  remark 
upon  this  part  of  his  speech  (and  that  too,  very 
briefly,  for  I  shall  not  detain  myself  or  you  upon 
that  point  for  any  great  length  of  time),  that  I 
believe  the  entire  records  of  the  world,  from  the 
date  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  up  to 
within  three  years  ago,  may  be  searched  in  vain 
for  one  single  affirmation  from  one  single  man, 
that  the  negro  was  not  included  in  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence  ;  I  think  I  may  defy  Judge 
Douglas  to  show  that  he  ever  said  so,  that  Wash- 
ington ever  said  so,  that  any  President  ever  said 
so,  that  any  member  of  Congress  ever  said  so,  or 


1 70  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

that  any  living  man  upon  the  whole  earth  ever 
said  so,  until  the  necessities  of  the  present  policy 
of  the  Democratic  party  in  regard  to  slavery  had 
to  invent  that  affirmation.  And  I  will  remind 
Judge  Douglas  and  this  audience,  that  while  Mr. 
Jefferson  was  the  owner  of  slaves,  as  undoubtedly 
he  was,  in  speaking  on  this  very  subject,  he  used 
the  strong  language  that  '  he  trembled  for  his 
country  when  he  remembered  that  God  was 
just ; '  and  I  will  offer  the  highest  premium  in 
my  power  to  Judge  Douglas  if  he  will  show  that 
he,  in  all  his  life,  ever  uttered  a  sentiment  at  all 
akin  to  that  of  Jefferson. 

"...  In  order  to  fix  extreme  Abolitionism 
upon  me,  Judge  Douglas  read  a  set  of  resolutions 
which  he  declared  had  been  passed  by  a  Repub- 
lican State  Convention,  in  October,  1854,  held  at 
Springfield,  Illinois,  and  he  declared  that  I  had 
taken  a  part  in  that  convention.  It  turned  out  that 
although  a  few  men  calling  themselves  an  anti- 
Nebraska  State  Convention  had  sat  at  Springfield 
about  that  time,  yet  neither  did  I  take  any  part 
in  it,  nor  did  it  pass  the  resolutions  or  any  such 
resolutions  as  Judge  Douglas  read.  ...  A  fraud, 
an  absolute  forgery,  was  committed,  and  the  per- 
petration of  it  was  traced  to  the  three,  —  Lanphier, 
Harris,  and  Douglas.  .  .  .  The  main  object  of 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  IJl 

that  forgery  at  that  time  was  to  beat  Yates  and 
elect  Harris  to  Congress,  and  that  object  was 
known  to  be  exceedingly  dear  to  Judge  Douglas 
at  that  time. 

"  .  .  .  The  fraud  having  been  apparently 
successful  upon  that  occasion,  both  Harris  and 
Douglas  have  more  than  once  since  then  been 
attempting  to  put  it  to  new  uses.  As  the  fisher- 
man's wife,  whose  drowned  husband  was  brought 
home  with  his  body  full  of  eels,  said,  when  she 
was  asked  what  was  to  be  done  with  him,  '  Take 
out  the  eels  and  set  him  again,'  so  Harris  and 
Douglas  have  shown  a  disposition  to  take  the 
eels  out  of  that  stale  fraud  by  which  they  gained 
Harris's  election,  and  set  the  fraud  again,  more 
than  once.  .  .  .  And  now  that  it  has  been  dis- 
covered publicly  to  be  a  fraud,  we  find  that 
Judge  Douglas  manifests  no  surprise  at  all.  .  .  . 
But  meanwhile  the  three  are  agreed  that  each  is 
a  most  honourable  man." 


172  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


MR.  LINCOLN'S  REPLY  TO  JUDGE  DOUGLAS  IN  THE 
SEVENTH  AND  LAST  JOINT  DEBATE  AT  ALTON, 
ILLINOIS. 

October  15,  1858. 

"...  When  have  we  had  perfect  peace  in 
regard  to  this  thing  [slavery]  which  I  say  is  an 
element  of  discord  in  this  Union?  We  have 
sometimes  had  peace,  but  when  was  it?  It  was 
when  the  institution  of  slavery  remained  quiet 
where  it  was.  We  have  had  difficulty  and  tur- 
moil whenever  it  has  made  a  struggle  to  spread 
itself  where  it  was  not.  I  ask  then,  if  experience 
does  not  speak  in  thunder-tones,  telling  us  that 
the  policy  which  has  given  peace  to  the  country 
heretofore,  being  returned  to,  gives  the  greatest 
promise  of  peace  again  ?  You  may  say  .  .  .  that 
all  this  difficulty  in  regard  to  the  institution  of 
slavery  is  the  mere  agitation  of  office-seekers 
and  ambitious  Northern  politicians.  ...  I  agree 
that  there  are  office-seekers  amongst  us.  The 
Bible  says  somewhere  that  we  are  desperately 
selfish.  I  think  we  would  have  discovered  that 
fact  without  the  Bible.  I  do  not  claim  that  I 
am  any  less  so  than  the  average  of  men,  but  I 
do  claim  that  I  am  not  more  selfish  than  Judge 
Douglas. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  1 73 

"  But  is  it  true  that  all  the  difficulty  and  agi- 
tation we  have  in  regard  to  this  institution  of 
slavery  springs  from  office-seeking,  —  from  the 
mere  ambition  of  politicians  ?  Is  that  the  truth  ? 
How  many  times  have  we  had  danger  from  this 
question  ?  Go  back  to  the  day  of  the  Missouri 
Compromise.  Go  back  to  the  nullification  ques- 
tion, at  the  bottom  of  which  lay  this  same  slavery 
question.  Go  back  to  the  time  of  the  annexation 
of  Texas.  Go  back  to  the  troubles  that  led  to  the 
Compromise  of  1850.  You  will  find  that  every 
time,  with  the  single  exception  of  the  nullification 
question,  they  sprung  from  an  endeavour  to  spread 
this  institution.  There  never  was  a  party  in  the 
history  of  this  country,  and  there  probably  never 
will  be,  of  sufficient  strength  to  disturb  the  general 
peace  of  the  country.  Parties  themselves  may 
be  divided  and  quarrel  on  minor  questions,  yet 
it  extends  not  beyond  the  parties  themselves. 
But  does  not  this  question  make  a  disturbance 
outside  of  political  circles?  Does  it  not  enter 
into  the  churches  and  rend  them  asunder  ?  What 
divided  the  great  Methodist  Church  into  two 
parts  North  and  South?  What  has  raised  this 
constant  disturbance  in  every  Presbyterian  Gen- 
eral Assembly  that  meets?  What  disturbed  the 
Unitarian  Church  in  this  very  city  two  years  ago  ? 


1/4  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

What  has  jarred  and  shaken  the  great  American 
Tract  Society  recently,  —  not  yet  splitting  it,  but 
sure  to  divide  it  in  the  end  ?  Is  it  not  this  same 
mighty,  deep-seated  power,  that  somehow  operates 
on  the  minds  of  men,  exciting  and  stirring  them 
up  in  every  avenue  of  society,  in  politics,  in  re- 
ligion, in  literature,  in  morals,  in  all  the  manifold 
relations  of  life  ?  Is  this  the  work  of  politicians  ? 
Is  that  irresistible  power  which  for  fifty  years  has 
shaken  the  government  and  agitated  the  people, 
to  be  stilled  and  subdued  by  pretending  that  it  is 
an  exceedingly  simple  thing,  and  we  ought  not 
to  talk  about  it?  If  you  will  get  everybody  else  to 
stop  talking  about  it,  I  assure  you  that  I  will  quit 
before  they  have  half  done  so.  But  where  is  the 
philosophy  or  statesmanship  which  assumes  that 
you  can  quiet  that  disturbing  element  in  our  so- 
ciety, which  has  disturbed  us  for  more  than  half 
a  century,  which  has  been  the  only  serious  danger 
that  has  threatened  our  institutions  ?  I  say  where 
is  the  philosophy  or  the  statesmanship,  based  on 
the  assumption  that  we  are  to  quit  talking  about 
it,  and  that  the  public  mind  is  all  at  once  to  cease 
being  agitated  by  it  ?  Yet  this  is  the  policy  here 
in  the  North  that  Douglas  is  advocating,  —  that 
we  are  to  care  nothing  about  it !  I  ask  you  if  it 
is  not  a  false  philosophy  ?  Is  it  not  a  false  states- 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  175 

manship  that  undertakes  to  build  up  a  system  of 
policy  upon  the  basis  of  caring  nothing  about  the 
very  thing  that  everybody  does  care  the  most 
about,  —  a  thing  which  all  experience  has  shown 
we  care  about  a  very  great  deal? 

"...  The  real  issue  in  this  controversy  —  the 
one  pressing  upon  every  mind  —  is  the  sentiment 
on  the  part  of  one  class  that  looks  upon  the  insti- 
tution of  slavery  as  a  wrong,  and  of  another  class 
that  does  not  look  upon  it  as  a  wrong.  The  senti- 
ment that  contemplates  the  institution  of  slavery 
in  this  country  as  a  wrong  is  the  sentiment  of  the 
Republican  party.  It  is  the  sentiment  around 
which  all  their  actions,  all  their  arguments,  circle  ; 
from  which  all  their  propositions  radiate.  They 
look  upon  it  as  being  a  moral,  social,  and  political 
wrong;  and  while  they  contemplate  it  as  such, 
they  nevertheless  have  due  regard  for  its  actual 
existence  among  us,  and  the  difficulties  of  getting 
rid  of  it  in  any  satisfactory  way,  and  to  all  the 
constitutional  obligations  thrown  about  it.  Yet, 
having  a  due  regard  for  these,  they  desire  a  policy 
in  regard  to  it  that  looks  to  its  not  creating  any 
more  danger.  They  insist  that  it,  as  far  as  may 
be,  be  treated  as  a  wrong ;  and  one  of  the  methods 
of  treating  it  as  a  wrong  is  to  make  provision  that 
it  shall  grow  no  larger.  They  also  desire  a  policy 


176  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

that  looks  to  a  peaceful  end  of  slavery  some  time, 
as  being  a  wrong.  These  are  the  views  they  en- 
tertain in  regard  to  it,  as  I  understand  them  ;  and 
all  their  sentiments,  all  their  arguments  and  prop- 
ositions are  brought  within  this  range.  I  have 
said,  and  I  here  repeat  it,  that  if  there  be  a  man 
amongst  us  who  does  not  think  that  the  institu- 
tion of  slavery  is  wrong  in  any  one  of  the  aspects 
of  which  I  have  spoken,  he  is  misplaced,  and 
ought  not  to  be  with  us.  And  if  there  be  a  man 
amongst  us  who  is  so  impatient  of  it  as  a  wrong 
as  to  disregard  its  actual  presence  among  us,  and 
the  difficulty  of  getting  rid  of  it  suddenly  in  a 
satisfactory  way,  and  to  disregard  the  constitu- 
tional obligations  thrown  about  it,  that  man  is 
misplaced  if  he  is  on  our  platform.  We  disclaim 
sympathy  with  him  in  practical  action.  He  is 
not  placed  properly  with  us. 

"  On  this  subject  of  treating  it  as  a  wrong  and 
limiting  its  spread,  let  me  say  a  word.  Has  any- 
thing ever  threatened  the  existence  of  this  Union 
save  and  except  this  very  institution  of  slavery? 
What  is  it  that  we  hold  most  dear  amongst  us? 
Our  own  liberty  and  prosperity.  What  has  ever 
threatened  our  liberty  and  prosperity  save  and 
except  this  institution  of  slavery?  If  this  is  true, 
how  do  you  propose  to  improve  the  condition  of 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  1 77 

things  by  enlarging  slavery,  —  by  spreading  it  out 
and  making  it  bigger?  You  may  have  a  wen  or  a 
cancer  upon  your  person,  and  not  be  able  to  cut 
it  out  lest  you  bleed  to  death ;  but  surely  it  is  no 
way  to  cure  it,  to  engraft  it  and  spread  it  over 
your  whole  body.  That  is  no  proper  way  of 
treating  what  you  regard  as  a  wrong.  You  see 
this  peaceful  way  of  dealing  with  it  as  a  wrong,  — 
restricting  the  spread  of  it,  and  not  allowing  it  to 
go  into  new  countries  where  it  has  not  already 
existed.  That  is  the  peaceful  way  —  the  old- 
fashioned  way  —  the  way  in  which  the  fathers 
themselves  set  us  the  example. 

"  On  the  other  hand,  I  have  said  there  is  a 
sentiment  which  treats  it  as  not  being  wrong. 
That  is  the  Democratic  sentiment  of  this  day. 
I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  every  man  who  stands 
within  that  range  positively  asserts  that  it  is  right. 
That  class  will  include  all  who  positively  assert 
that  it  is  right,  and  all  who,  like  Judge  Douglas, 
treat  it  as  indifferent,  and  do  not  say  it  is  either 
right  or  wrong.  These  two  classes  of  men  fall 
within  the  general  class  of  those  who  do  not  look 
upon  it  as  a  wrong.  And  if  there  be  among  you 
anybody  who  supposes  that  he,  as  a  Democrat, 
can  consider  himself  '  as  much  opposed  to  slavery 
as  anybody,'  I  would  like  to  reason  with  him. 


i;8  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

You  never  treat  it  as  a  wrong.  What  other  thing 
that  you  consider  a  wrong  do  you  deal  with  as 
you  deal  with  that  ?  Perhaps  you  say  it  is  wrong, 
but  your  leader  never  does,  and  you  quarrel  with 
anybody  who  says  it  is  wrong.  Although  you 
pretend  to  say  so  yourself,  you  can  find  no  fit 
place  to  deal  with  it  as  a  wrong.  You  must  not 
say  anything  about  it  in  the  free  States,  because  it 
is  not  here.  You  must  not  say  anything  about 
it  in  the  slave  States,  because  it  is  there.  You 
must  not  say  anything  about  it  in  the  pulpit,  be- 
cause that  is  religion,  and  has  nothing  to  do  with 
it.  You  must  not  say  anything  about  it  in  poli- 
tics, because  that  will  disturb  the  security  of  '  my 
place.'  There  is  no  place  to  talk  about  it  as 
being  a  wrong,  although  you  say  yourself  it  is  a 
wrong.  But,  finally,  you  will  screw  yourself  up  to 
the  belief  that  if  the  people  of  the  slave  States 
should  adopt  a  system  of  gradual  emancipation 
on  the  slavery  question,  you  would  be  in  favour 
of  it.  You  would  be  in  favour  of  it !  You  say 
that  is  getting  it  in  the  right  place,  and  you 
would  be  glad  to  see  it  succeed.  But  you  are 
deceiving  yourself.  You  all  know  that  Frank 
Blair  and  Gratz  Brown,  down  there  in  St.  Louis, 
undertook  to  introduce  that  system  in  Missouri. 
They  fought  as  valiantly  as  they  could  for  the 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  179 

system  of  gradual  emancipation,  which  you  pre- 
tend you  would  be  glad  to  see  succeed.  Now  I 
will  bring  you  to  the  test.  After  a  hard  fight  they 
were  beaten  ;  and  when  the  news  came  over  here, 
you  threw  up  your  hats  and  hurrahed  for  De- 
mocracy !  More  than  that ;  take  all  the  argu- 
ment made  in  favour  of  the  system  you  have 
proposed,  and  it  carefully  excludes  the  idea  that 
there  is  anything  wrong  in  the  institution  of  slav- 
ery. The  arguments  to  sustain  that  policy  care- 
fully exclude  it.  Even  here  to-day,  you  heard 
Judge  Douglas  quarrel  with  me,  because  I  uttered 
a  wish  that  it  might  sometime  come  to  an  end. 
Although  Henry  Clay  could  say  he  wished  every 
slave  in  the  United  States  was  in  the  country  of 
his  ancestors,  I  am  denounced  by  those  who 
pretend  to  respect  Henry  Clay,  for  uttering  a 
wish  that  it  might  sometime,  in  some  peaceful 
way,  come  to  an  end. 

"  The  Democratic  policy  in  regard  to  that  in- 
stitution will  not  tolerate  the  merest  breath,  the 
slightest  hint,  of  the  least  degree  of  wrong  about 
it.  Try  it  by  some  of  Judge  Douglas's  argu- 
ments. He  says  he  'don't  care  whether  it  is 
voted  up  or  voted  down.'  .  .  .  Any  man  can  say 
that  who  does  not  see  anything  wrong  in  slavery. 
.  .  .  But  if  it  is  a  wrong,  he  cannot  say  that  people 


180  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

have  a  right  to  do  wrong.  He  says  that,  upon 
the  score  of  equality,  slaves  should  be  allowed 
to  go  into  a  new  Territory  like  other  property. 
This  is  strictly  logical  if  there  is  no  difference 
between  it  and  other  property.  .  .  .  But  if  you 
insist  that  one  is  wrong  and  the  other  right,  there 
is  no  use  to  institute  a  comparison  between  right 
and  wrong.  .  .  .  The  Democratic  policy  every- 
where carefully  excludes  the  idea  that  there  is 
anything  wrong  in  it. 

"  That  is  the  real  issue.  That  is  the  issue  that 
will  continue  in  this  country  when  these  poor 
tongues  of  Judge  Douglas  and  myself  shall  be 
silent.  It  is  the  eternal  struggle  between  these 
two  principles  —  right  and  wrong  —  throughout 
the  world.  They  are  the  two  principles  that  have 
stood  face  to  face  from  the  beginning  of  time, 
and  will  ever  continue  to  struggle.  The  one  is 
the  common  right  of  humanity,  and  the  other  the 
divine  right  of  kings.  It  is  the  same  principle  in 
whatever  shape  it  develops  itself.  It  is  the  same 
spirit  that  says,  'You  toil  and  work  and  earn 
bread,  and  I  '11  eat  it.'  No  matter  in  what  shape 
it  comes,  whether  from  the  mouth  of  a  king,  who 
seeks  to  bestride  the  people  of  his  own  nation 
and  live  by  the  fruit  of  their  labour,  or  from  one 
race  of  men  as  an  apology  for  enslaving  another 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  l8l 

race,  —  it  is  the  same  tyrannical  principle.  .  .  . 
Whenever  the  issue  can  be  distinctly  made,  and 
all  extraneous  matter  thrown  out,  so  that  men  can 
fairly  see  the  real  difference  between  the  parties, 
this  controversy  will  soon  be  settled,  and  it  will 
be  done  peaceably,  too.  There  will  be  no  war, 
no  violence.  It  will  be  placed  again  where  the 
wisest  and  best  men  of  the  world  placed  it.  ... 
I  now  say  that,  willingly  or  unwillingly,  purposely 
or  without  purpose,  Judge  Douglas  has  been  the 
most  prominent  instrument  in  changing  the  posi- 
tion of  the  institution  of  slavery,  which  the  fathers 
of  the  government  expected  to  come  to  an  end 
ere  this,  .  .  .  and  placing  it  where  he  openly  con- 
fesses he  has  no  desire  there  shall  ever  be  an 
end  to  it." 


FROM  HIS  SPEECH  AT  COLUMBUS,  OHIO. 

September  16,  1859. 

"...  The  American  people,  on  the  first  day 
of  January,  1854,  found  the  African  slave-trade 
prohibited  by  a  law  of  Congress.  In  a  majority 
of  the  States  of  this  Union,  they  found  African 
slavery,  or  any  other  sort  of  slavery,  prohibited 
by  State  constitutions.  They  also  found  a  law 
existing,  supposed  to  be  valid,  by  which  slavery 


1 82  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

was  excluded  from  almost  all  the  territory  the 
United  States  then  owned.  This  was  the  con- 
dition of  the  country  with  reference  to  the  insti- 
tution of  slavery,  on  the  ist  of  January,  1854. 
A  few  days  after  that,  a  bill  was  introduced  into 
Congress,  which  ran  through  its  regular  course  in 
the  two  branches  of  the  national  legislature,  and 
finally  passed  into  a  law  in  the  month  of  May, 
by  which  the  Act  of  Congress  prohibiting  slavery 
from  going  into  the  Territories  of  the  United 
States  was  repealed.  In  connection  with  the  law 
itself,  and,  in  fact,  in  the  terms  of  the  law,  the 
then  existing  prohibition  was  not  only  repealed, 
but  there  was  a  declaration  of  a  purpose  on  the 
part  of  Congress  never  thereafter  to  exercise  any 
power  that  they  might  have,  real  or  supposed,  to 
prohibit  the  extension  or  the  spread  of  slavery. 
This  was  a  very  great  change,  for  the  law  thus 
repealed  was  of  more  than  thirty  years'  standing. 
Following  rapidly  upon  the  heels  of  this  action 
of  Congress,  a  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  is 
made,  by  which  it  is  declared  that  Congress,  if  it 
desires  to  prohibit  the  spread  of  slavery,  has 
no  constitutional  power  to  do  so.  ...  That  de- 
cision lays  down  principles  which,  if  pushed  to 
their  logical  conclusion,  —  I  say  pushed  to  their 
logical  conclusion,  —  would  decide  that  the  con- 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  183 

stitutions  of  free  States  forbidding  slavery  were 
themselves  unconstitutional. 

"...  The  Republican  party,  as  I  understand 
its  principles  and  policy,  believes  that  there  is 
great  danger  of  the  institution  of  slavery  being 
spread  out  and  extended,  until  it  is  ultimately 
made  alike  lawful  in  all  the  States  of  this  Union ; 
so  believing,  to  prevent  that  incidental  and  ulti- 
mate consummation  is  the  original  and  chief 
purpose  of  the  Republican  organisation. 

"...  The  chief  danger  to  this  purpose  is  ... 
that  insidious  Douglas  popular-sovereignty.  This 
is  the  miner  and  sapper.  While  it  does  not  pro- 
pose to  revive  the  African  slave-trade,  nor  to  pass 
a  slave-code,  nor  to  make  a  second  Dred  Scott 
decision,  it  is  preparing  us  for  the  onslaught  and 
charge  of  these  ultimate  enemies  when  they  shall 
be  ready  to  come  on,  and  the  word  of  command 
for  them  to  advance  shall  be  given.  I  say  this 
Douglas  popular-sovereignty  —  for  there  is  a  broad 
distinction,  as  I  now  understand  it,  between  that 
article  and  a  genuine  popular-sovereignty. 

"  I  believe  there  is  a  genuine  popular-sov- 
ereignty. I  think  a  definition  of  genuine  popular- 
sovereignty  in  the  abstract  would  be  about  this  : 
that  each  man  shall  do  precisely  as  he  pleases 
with  himself,  and  with  all  those  things  which  ex- 


1 84  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

clusively  concern  him.  Applied  to  governments, 
this  principle  would  be,  that  a  general  govern- 
ment shall  do  all  those  things  which  pertain  to 
it;  and  all  the  local  governments  shall  do  pre- 
cisely as  they  please  in  respect  to  those  matters 
which  exclusively  concern  them.  I  understand 
that  this  government  of  the  United  States  under 
which  we  live,  is  based  upon  this  principle  ;  and 
I  am  misunderstood  if  it  is  supposed  that  I  have 
any  war  to  make  upon  that  principle. 

"  Now,  what  is  Judge  Douglas's  popular-sov- 
ereignty? It  is,  as  a  principle,  no  other  than 
that  if  one  man  chooses  to  make  a  slave  of  an- 
other man,  neither  that  other  man  nor  anybody 
else  has  a  right  to  object.  Applied  in  govern- 
ment, as  he  seeks  to  apply  it,  it  is  this :  If,  in  a 
new  Territory  into  which  a  few  people  are  begin- 
ning to  enter  for  the  purpose  of  making  their 
homes,  they  choose  to  either  exclude  slavery  from 
their  limits  or  to  establish  it  there,  however  one 
or  the  other  may  affect  the  persons  to  be  enslaved, 
or  the  infinitely  greater  number  of  persons  who 
are  afterward  to  inhabit  that  Territory,  or  the 
other  members  of  the  families  of  communities 
of  which  they  are  but  an  incipient  member,  or 
the  general  head  of  the  family  of  States  as  parent 
of  all,  —  however  their  action  may  affect  one  or 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  185 

the  other  of  these,  there  is  no  power  or  right  to 
interfere.  That  is  Douglas  popular-sovereignty 
applied. 

"  He  has  a  good  deal  of  trouble  with  popular 
sovereignty.  His  explanations  explanatory  of  ex- 
planations explained  are  interminable.  The  most 
lengthy  and,  as  I  suppose,  the  most  maturely  con- 
sidered of  his  long  series  of  explanations  is  his 
great  essay  in  '  Harper's  Magazine.'  ...  In  that 
article  he  quotes  from  two  persons  belonging  to 
the  Republican  party,  without  naming  them,  but 
who  can  readily  be  recognised  as  being  Governor 
Seward  of  New  York  and  myself.  .  .  . 

"...  The  sense  of  that  quotation  condensed, 
is  this  :  that  this  slavery  element  is  a  durable  ele- 
ment of  discord  among  us,  and  that  we  shall 
probably  not  have  perfect  peace  in  this  country 
with  it  until  it  either  masters  the  free  principle 
in  our  government,  or  is  so  far  mastered  by  the 
free  principle  as  for  the  public  mind  to  rest  in 
the  belief  that  it  is  going  to  its  end.  .  .  .  Judge 
Douglas  has  been  so  much  annoyed  by  the  ex- 
pression of  that  sentiment  that  he  has  constantly, 
I  believe,  in  almost  all  his  speeches  since  it  was 
uttered,  been  referring  to  it.  ...  I  only  ask 
your  attention  to  this  matter  for  the  purpose  of 
making  one  or  two  points  upon  it. 


1 86  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

"...  Judge  Douglas  himself  says  in  his '  copy- 
right essay,'  that  a  controversy  between  the  Amer- 
ican colonies  and  the  government  of  Great  Britain 
began  on  the  slavery  question  in  1699,  and  con- 
tinued from  that  time  until  the  Revolution ;  and 
while  he  did  not  say  so,  we  all  know  that  it  has 
continued  with  more  or  less  violence  ever  since 
the  Revolution.  .  .  .  Then  we  know  from  Judge 
Douglas  himself,  that  slavery  began  to  be  an  ele- 
ment of  discord  among  the  white  people  of  this 
country  as  far  back  as  1699,  or  one  hundred  and 
sixty  years  ago,  or  five  generations  of  men,  count- 
ing thirty  years  to  a  generation.  Now  it  would 
seem  to  me  that  it  might  have  occurred  to  Judge 
Douglas,  or  to  anybody  who  had  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  these  facts,  that  there  was  something  in 
the  nature  of  that  thing  —  slavery  —  somewhat 
durable  for  mischief  and  discord. 

"...  From  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution 
down  to  1820,  is  the  precise  period  of  our  history 
when  we  had  comparative  peace  upon  this  ques- 
tion, —  the  precise  period  of  time  when  we  came 
nearer  to  having  peace  about  it  than  any  other 
time  of  that  entire  one  hundred  and  sixty  years 
in  which  he  says  it  began,  or  of  the  eighty  years 
of  our  own  Constitution.  .  .  .  This  was  the  pre- 
cise period  of  time  in  which  our  fathers  adopted, 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  1 87 

and  during  which  they  followed,  a  policy  restrict- 
ing the  spread  of  slavery,  and  the  whole  Union 
was  acquiescing  in  it.  The  whole  country  looked 
forward  to  the  ultimate  extinction  of  the  institu- 
tion. It  was  when  a  policy  had  been  adopted 
and  was  prevailing,  which  led  all  just  and  right- 
minded  men  to  suppose  that  slavery  was  gradually 
coming  to  an  end,  and  that  they  might  be  quiet 
about  it,  watching  it  as  it  expired.  I  think  Judge 
Douglas  might  have  perceived  that  too ;  and, 
whether  he  did  or  not,  it  is  worth  the  attention 
of  fair-minded  men,  here  and  elsewhere,  to  con- 
sider whether  that  is  not  the  truth  of  the  case. 
If  he  had  looked  at  these  two  facts,  ...  he 
might  then,  perhaps,  have  been  brought  to  a 
more  just  appreciation  of  what  I  said  fifteen 
months  ago,  that  '  a  house  divided  against  itself 
cannot  stand.'  ...  In  connection  with  it  I  said, 
'  we  are  now  far  advanced  into  the  fifth  year  since 
a  policy  was  initiated  with  the  avowed  object  and 
confident  promise  of  putting  an  end  to  slavery 
agitation.  Under  the  operation  of  that  policy, 
that  agitation  has  not  only  not  ceased,  but  has 
constantly  augmented.'  I  now  say  to  you  here, 
that  we  are  advanced  still  farther  into  the  sixth 
year  since  that  policy  of  Judge  Douglas  —  that 
popular  sovereignty  of  his  for  quieting  the  slavery 


1 88  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

question  —  was  made  the  national  policy.  Fifteen 
months  more  have  been  added  since  I  uttered 
that  sentiment,  and  I  call  upon  you  and  all  other 
right-minded  men,  to  say  whether  those  fifteen 
months  have  belied  or  corroborated  my  words. 

"...  I  cannot  but  express  my  gratitude  that 
this  true  view  of  this  element  of  discord  among 
us,  as  I  believe  it  is,  is  attracting  more  and  more 
attention.  I  do  not  believe  that  Governor  Seward 
uttered  that  sentiment  because  I  had  done  so 
before,  but  because  he  reflected  upon  this  sub- 
ject, and  saw  the  truth  of  it.  Nor  do  I  believe, 
because  Governor  Seward  or  I  uttered  it,  that 
Mr.  Hickman  of  Pennsylvania,  in  different  lan- 
guage, since  that  time,  has  declared  his  belief  in 
the  utter  antagonism  which  exists  between  the 
principles  of  liberty  and  slavery.  You  see  we  are 
multiplying.  Now,  while  I  am  speaking  of  Hick- 
man, let  me  say,  I  know  but  little  about  him.  I 
have  never  seen  him,  and  know  scarcely  anything 
about  the  man ;  but  I  will  say  this  much  about 
him :  of  all  the  anti-Lecompton  Democracy 
that  have  been  brought  to  my  notice,  he  alone 
has  the  true,  genuine  ring  of  the  metal. 

" .  .  .  Judge  Douglas  .  .  .  proceeds  to  assume, 
without  proving  it,  that  slavery  is  one  of  those 
little,  unimportant,  trivial  matters  which  are  of 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  189 

just  about  as  much  consequence  as  the  question 
would  be  to  me,  whether  my  neighbour  should 
raise  horned  cattle  or  plant  tobacco ;  that  there 
is  no  moral  question  about  it,  but  that  it  is  alto- 
gether a  matter  of  dollars  and  cents ;  that  when 
a  new  Territory  is  opened  for  settlement,  the  first 
man  who  goes  into  it  may  plant  there  a  thing 
which,  like  the  Canada  thistle  or  some  other  of 
those  pests  of  the  soil,  cannot  be  dug  out  by  the 
millions  of  men  who  will  come  thereafter;  that 
it  is  one  of  those  little  things  that  is  so  trivial  in 
its  nature  that  it  has  no  effect  upon  anybody  save 
the  few  men  who  first  plant  upon  the  soil ;  that 
it  is  not  a  thing  which  in  any  way  affects  the 
family  of  communities  composing  these  States, 
nor  any  way  endangers  the  general  government. 
Judge  Douglas  ignores  altogether  the  very  well- 
known  fact  that  we  have  never  had  a  serious  men- 
ace to  our  political  existence  except  it  sprang 
from  this  thing,  which  he  chooses  to  regard  as 
only  upon  a  par  with  onions  and  potatoes. 

"...  This  is  an  idea,  I  suppose,  which  has 
arisen  in  Judge  Douglas's  mind  from  his  peculiar 
structure.  I  suppose  the  institution  of  slavery 
really  looks  small  to  him.  He  is  so  put  up  by 
nature  that  a  lash  upon  his  back  would  hurt  him, 
but  a  lash  upon  anybody  else's  back  does  not 


1 90  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

hurt  him.  That  is  the  build  of  the  man,  and 
consequently  he  looks  upon  the  matter  of  slavery 
in  this  unimportant  light. 

"  Judge  Douglas  ought  to-  remember,  when 
he  is  endeavouring  to  force  this  policy  upon  the 
American  people,  that  while  he  is  put  up  in  that 
way,  a  good  many  are  not.  He  ought  to  remem- 
ber .  .  .  Thomas  Jefferson,  .  .  .  who  was  led  to 
exclaim,  '  I  tremble  for  my  country  when  I  re- 
member that  God  is  just.'  .  .  .  There  was  danger 
to  this  country,  danger  of  the  avenging  justice  of 
God,  in  that  little,  unimportant  popular-sovereignty 
question  of  Judge  Douglas.  He  supposed  there 
was  a  question  of  God's  eternal  justice  wrapped 
up  in  the  enslaving  of  any  race  of  men,  or  any 
man,  and  that  those  who  did  so  braved  the  arm 
of  Jehovah,  —  that  when  a  nation  thus  dared  the 
Almighty,  every  friend  of  that  nation  had  cause 
to  dread  His  wrath.  Choose  ye  between  Jeffer- 
son and  Douglas  as  to  what  is  the  true  view  of 
this  element  among  us. 

"...  Now,  if  you  are  opposed  to  slavery 
honestly,  I  ask  you  to  note  that  fact  (the  popular- 
sovereignty  of  Judge  Douglas),  and  the  like  of 
which  is  to  follow,  to  be  plastered  on,  layer  after 
layer,  until  very  soon  you  are  prepared  to  deal 
with  the  negro  everywhere  as  with  the  brute.  If 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  19 1 

public  sentiment  has  not  been  debauched  already 
to  this  point,  a  new  turn  of  the  screw  in  that 
direction  is  all  that  is  wanting ;  and  this  is  con- 
stantly being  done  by  the  teachers  of  this  insidi- 
ous popular-sovereignty.  You  need  but  one  or 
two  turns  further,  until  your  minds,  now  ripening 
under  these  teachings,  will  be  ready  for  all  these 
things,  and  you  will  receive  and  support  or  sub- 
mit to  the  slave-trade,  revived  with  all  its  horrors, 
—  a  slave-code  enforced  in  our  Territories,  — 
and  a  new  Dred  Scott  decision  to  bring  slavery 
up  into  the  very  heart  of  the  free  North. 

"...  I  ask  attention  to  the  fact  that  in  a  pre- 
eminent degree  these  popular  sovereigns  are  at 
this  work :  blowing  out  the  moral  lights  around 
us ;  teaching  that  the  negro  is  no  longer  a  man, 
but  a  brute ;  that  the  Declaration  has  nothing  to 
do  with  him ;  that  he  ranks  with  the  crocodile 
and  the  reptile ;  that  man  with  body  and  soul  is 
a  matter  of  dollars  and  cents.  I  suggest  to  this 
portion  of  the  Ohio  Republicans,  or  Democrats, 
if  there  be  any  present,  the  serious  consideration 
of  this  fact,  that  there  is  now  going  on  among 
you  a  steady  process  of  debauching  public  opin- 
ion on  this  subject.  With  this,  my  friends,  I  bid 
you  adieu." 


192  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

FROM  HIS  SPEECH  AT  CINCINNATI,  OHIO. 

September  17,  1859. 

"...  I  am  what  they  call,  as  I  understand  it, 
a  '  Black  Republican.'  I  think  slavery  is  wrong, 
morally  and  politically.  I  desire  that  it  should 
be  no  further  spread  in  these  United  States,  and 
I  should  not  object  if  it  should  gradually  termi- 
nate in  the  whole  Union.  While  I  say  this  for 
myself,  I  say  to  you,  Kentuckians,  that  I  under- 
stand you  differ  radically  with  me  upon  this  prop- 
osition ;  that  you  believe  slavery  is  a  good  thing  ; 
that  slavery  is  right ;  that  it  ought  to  be  extended 
and  perpetuated  in  this  Union.  Now,  there  being 
this  broad  difference  between  us,  I  do  not  pretend, 
in  addressing  myself  to  you,  Kentuckians,  to  at- 
tempt proselyting  you.  That  would  be  a  vain 
effort.  I  do  not  enter  upon  it.  I  only  propose 
to  try  to  show  you  that  you  ought  to  nominate  for 
the  next  presidency,  at  Charleston,  my  distin- 
guished friend,  Judge  Douglas.  In  all  that,  there 
is  no  real  difference  between  you  and  him ;  I 
understand  he  is  as  sincerely  for  you,  and  more 
wisely  for  you  than  you  are  for  yourselves.  I  will 
try  to  demonstrate  that  proposition. 

"...  What  do  you  want  more  than  anything 
else  to  make  successful  your  views  of  slavery,  — to 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  193 

advance  the  outspread  of  it,  and  to  secure  and 
perpetuate  the  nationality  of  it?  What  do  you 
want  more  than  anything  else  ?  What  is  needed 
absolutely?  What  is  indispensable  to  you?  Why, 
if  I  may  be  allowed  to  answer  the  question,  it  is 
to  retain  a  hold  upon  the  North ;  to  retain  sup- 
port and  strength  from  the  free  States.  If  you 
can  get  this  support  and  strength  from  the  free 
States,  you  can  succeed.  If  you  do  not  get  this 
support  and  this  strength  from  the  free  States, 
you  are  in  a  minority,  and  you  are  beaten  at  once. 

"  If  that  proposition  be  admitted,  and  it  is  un- 
deniable, then  the  next  thing  I  say  to  you  is,  that 
Douglas,  of  all  men  in  this  nation,  is  the  only  man 
that  affords  you  any  hold  upon  the  free  States; 
that  no  other  man  can  give  you  any  strength  in 
the  free  States.  This  being  so,  if  you  doubt  the 
other  branch  of  the  proposition,  whether  he  is 
really  for  you,  as  I  have  expressed  it,  I  propose 
asking  your  attention  for  a  while  to  a  few  facts. 

"...  In  the  first  place,  we  know  that,  in  a 
government  like  this,  —  a  government  of  the  peo- 
ple, where  the  voice  of  all  the  men  of  the  country, 
substantially,  enters  into  the  administration  of 
the  government,  —  what  lies  at  the  bottom  of  all 
of  it,  is  public  opinion.  I  lay  down  the  propo- 
sition that  Judge  Douglas  is  not  only  the  man 


194  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

that  promises  you  in  advance  a  hold  upon  the 
North,  and  support  in  the  North,  but  that  he 
constantly  moulds  public  opinion  to  your  ends; 
that  in  every  possible  way  he  can,  he  moulds  the 
public  opinion  of  the  North  to  your  ends  ;  and  if 
there  are  a  few  things  in  which  he  seems  to  be 
against  you,  —  a  few  things  which  he  says  that 
appear  to  be  against  you ;  and  a  few  things  that 
he  forbears  to  say,  which  you  would  like  to  have 
him  say,  —  you  ought  to  remember  that  the  saying 
of  the  one,  or  the  forbearing  to  say  the  other, 
would  lose  his  hold  upon  the  North,  and  by  con- 
sequence would  lose  his  capacity  to  serve  you. 

"  Upon  this  subject  of  moulding  public  opinion, 
I  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  —  for  a  well- 
established  fact  it  is  —  that  the  Judge  never  says 
your  institution  of  slavery  is  wrong;  he  never 
says  it  is  right,  to  be  sure,  but  he  never  says  it  is 
wrong.  There  is  not  a  public  man  in  the  United 
States,  I  believe,  with  the  exception  of  Senator 
Douglas,  who  has  not,  at  some  time  in  his  life, 
declared  his  opinion  whether  the  thing  is  right  or 
wrong ;  but  Senator  Douglas  never  declares  it  is 
wrong.  He  leaves  himself  at  perfect  liberty  to 
do  all  in  your  favour  which  he  would  be  hindered 
from  doing  if  he  were  to  declare  the  thing  to  be 
wrong.  On  the  contrary,  he  takes  all  the  chances 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  195 

that  he  has  for  inveigling  the  sentiment  of  the 
North,  opposed  to  slavery,  into  your  support,  by 
never  saying  it  is  right.  This  you  ought  to  set 
down  to  his  credit.  You  ought  to  give  him  full 
credit  for  this  much,  little  though  it  be  in  com- 
parison with  the  whole  which  he  does  for  you. 

"  Some  other  things  I  will  ask  your  attention 
to.  He  said  upon  the  floor  of  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States,  and  he  has  repeated  it,  as  I  under- 
stand, a  great  many  times,  that  he  does  not  care 
'  whether  slavery  is  voted  up  or  voted  down.' 
This  again  shows  you,  or  ought  to  show  you,  if 
you  would  reason  upon  it,  that  he  does  not  be- 
lieve it  to  be  wrong ;  for  a  man  may  say,  when 
he  sees  nothing  wrong  in  a  thing,  that  he  does 
not  care  whether  it  be  voted  up  or  voted  down ; 
but  no  man  can  logically  say  that  he  cares  not 
whether  a  thing  goes  up  or  down  which  appears 
to  him  to  be  wrong.  You  therefore  have  a  dem- 
onstration in  this,  that  to  Judge  Douglas's  mind, 
your  favourite  institution,  which  you  desire  to 
have  spread  out  and  made  perpetual,  is  no  wrong 

"  Another  thing  he  tells  you  in  a  speech  made 
in  Memphis  .  .  .  last  year.  He  there  distinctly 
told  the  people  that  there  was  '  a  line  drawn  by 
the  Almighty  across  this  continent,'  on  one  side 
of  which  '  the  soil  must  always  be  cultivated  by 


196  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

slaves ; '  that  he  did  not  pretend  to  know  exactly 
where  that  line  was,  but  there  was  such  a  line. 
I  want  to  ask  your  attention  to  that  proposition 
again  :  that  there  is  one  portion  of  this  continent 
where  the  Almighty  has  designed  the  soil  shall 
always  be  cultivated  by  slaves ;  that  its  being  cul- 
tivated by  slaves  at  that  place  is  right ;  that  it  has 
the  direct  sympathy  and  authority  of  the  Almighty. 
Whenever  you  can  get  these  Northern  audiences 
to  adopt  the  opinion  that  slavery  is  right  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Ohio ;  whenever  you  can  get 
them,  in  pursuance  of  Douglas's  views,  to  adopt 
that  sentiment,  —  they  will  very  readily  make  the 
other  argument,  which  is  perfectly  logical,  that 
that  which  is  right  on  that  side  of  the  Ohio  can- 
not be  wrong  on  this,  and  that  if  you  have  that 
property  on  that  side  of  the  Ohio,  under  the  seal 
and  stamp  of  the  Almighty,  when  by  any  means 
it  escapes  over  here,  it  is  wrong  to  have  consti- 
tutions and  laws  to  '  devil '  you  about  it. 

"...  Let  me  ask  your  attention  to  another 
thing.  .  .  .  Five  years  ago  no  living  man  had 
expressed  the  opinion  that  the  negro  had  no 
share  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  .  .  . 
Within  that  space  of  five  years  Senator  Douglas, 
in  the  argument  of  this  question,  has  got  his 
entire  party  ...  to  join  in  saying  that  the  negro 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  197 

has  no  share  in  that  Declaration  of  Independence. 
If  there  be  now  in  all  these  United  States  one 
Douglas  man  that  does  not  say  this,  I  have  been 
unable  upon  any  occasion  to  scare  him  up.  Now, 
if  none  of  you  said  this  five  years  ago,  and  all  of 
you  say  it  now,  that  is  a  vast  change  which  you 
Kentuckians  ought  to  note.  .  .  .  That  change  in 
public  sentiment  has  already  degraded  the  black 
man  in  the  estimation  of  Douglas  and  his  follow- 
ers from  the  condition  of  a  man  of  some  sort,  and 
assigned  him  to  the  condition  of  a  brute. 

"...  In  Kentucky  perhaps  —  in  many  of  the 
slave  States  certainly  — ...  you  are  trying  to  show 
that  slavery  existed  in  the  Bible  times  by  Divine 
ordinance.  Now,  Douglas  is  wiser  than  you,  for 
your  own  benefit,  upon  that  subject.  Douglas 
knows  that  whenever  you  establish  that  slavery 
was  right  by  the  Bible,  it  will  occur  that  that  slavery 
was  the  slavery  of  the  white  man,  —  of  men  with- 
out reference  to  colour,  —  and  he  knows  very  well 
that  you  may  entertain  that  idea  in  Kentucky  as 
much  as  you  please,  but  you  will  never  win  any 
Northern  support  upon  it.  He  makes  a  wiser 
argument  for  you.  He  makes  the  argument  that 
the  slavery  of  the  black  man  —  the  slavery  of  the 
man  who  has  a  skin  of  a  different  colour  from  your 
own  —  is  right.  He  thereby  brings  to  your  support 


198  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Northern  voters,  who  could  not  for  a  moment  be 
brought  by  your  own  argument  of  the  Bible  right 
of  slavery. 

"...  At  Memphis  he  [Judge  Douglas]  de- 
clared that  in  all  contests  between  the  negro  and 
the  white  man,  he  was  for  the  white  man,  but 
that  in  all  questions  between  the  negro  and  the 
crocodile,  he  was  for  the  negro.  .  .  . 

"  The  first  inference  seems  to  be  that  if  you  do 
not  enslave  the  negro,  you  are  wronging  the  white 
man  in  some  way  or  other ;  and  that  whoever  is 
opposed  to  the  negro  being  enslaved  is  in  some 
way  or  other  against  the  white  man.  Is  not  that 
a  falsehood?  If  there  was  a  necessary  conflict 
between  the  white  man  and  the  negro,  I  should 
be  for  the  white  man  as  much  as  Judge  Douglas ; 
but  I  say  there  is  no  such  necessary  conflict.  1 
say  there  is  room  enough  for  us  all  to  be  free,  and 
that  it  not  only  does  not  wrong  the  white  man 
that  the  negro  should  be  free,  but  it  positively 
wrongs  the  mass  of  the  white  men  that  the  negro 
should  be  enslaved,  —  that  the  mass  of  white  men 
are  really  injured  by  the  effects  of  slave  labour  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  fields  of  their  own  labour.  .  .  . 

"  There  is  one  other  thing  that  I  will  say  to 
you  in  this  relation.  It  is  but  my  opinion ;  I 
give  it  to  you  without  a  fee.  It  is  my  opinion 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  199 

that  it  is  for  you  to  take  him  or  be  defeated ;  and 
that  if  you  do  take  him  you  may  be  beaten.  You 
will  surely  be  beaten  if  you  do  not  take  him. 
We,  the  Republicans  and  others  forming  the  op- 
position of  the  country,  intend  '  to  stand  by  our 
guns,'  to  be  patient  and  firm,  and  in  the  long  run 
to  beat  you,  whether  you  take  him  or  not.  We 
know  that  before  we  fairly  beat  you,  we  have 
to  beat  you  both  together.  We  know  that  '  you 
are  all  of  a  feather,'  and  that  we  have  to  beat  you 
all  together ;  and  we  expect  to  do  it.  We  don't 
intend  to  be  very  impatient  about  it.  We  mean 
to  be  as  deliberate  and  calm  about  it  as  it  is 
possible  to  be,  but  as  firm  and  resolved  as  it  is 
possible  for  men  to  be.  When  we  do,  as  we  say, 
beat  you,  you  perhaps  want  to  know  what  we  will 
do  with  you. 

"  I  will  tell  you,  so  far  as  I  am  authorised  to  speak 
for  the  opposition,  what  we  mean  to  do  with  you. 
We  mean  to  treat  you  as  near  as  we  possibly  can 
as  Washington,  Jefferson,  and  Madison  treated 
you.  We  mean  to  leave  you  alone,  and  in  no 
way  to  interfere  with  your  institution ;  to  abide 
by  all  and  every  compromise  of  the  Constitution ; 
and,  in  a  word,  coming  back  to  the  original  prop- 
osition, to  treat  you,  so  far  as  degenerate  men  (if 
we  have  degenerated)  may,  according  to  the  ex- 


iOO  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Ample  of  those  noble  fathers,  Washington,  Jeffer- 
son, and  Madison.  We  mean  to  remember  that 
you  are  as  good  as  we ;  that  there  is  no  differ- 
ence between  us  other  than  the  difference  of 
circumstances.  We  mean  to  recognise  and  bear 
in  mind  always,  that  you  have  as  good  hearts 
in  your  bosoms  as  other  people,  or  as  we  claim 
to  have,  and  to  treat  you  accordingly.  We  mean 
to  marry  your  girls  when  we  have  a  chance  —  the 
white  ones  I  mean ;  and  I  have  the  honour  to  say 
that  I  once  did  have  a  chance  in  that  way. 

"  I  have  told  you  what  we  mean  to  do.  I  want 
to  know,  now,  when  that  thing  takes  place,  what 
do  you  mean  to  do?  I  often  hear  it  intimated 
that  you  mean  to  divide  the  Union  whenever  a 
Republican,  or  anything  like  it,  is  elected  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States.  Well,  then,  I  want 
to  know  what  you  are  going  to  do  with  your  half 
of  it?  Are  you  going  to  split  the  Ohio  down 
through,  and  push  your  half  off  a  piece?  Or 
are  you  going  to  keep  it  right  alongside  of  us 
outrageous  fellows?  Or  are  you  going  to  build 
up  a  wall  some  way  between  your  country  and 
ours,  by  which  that  movable  property  of  yours 
can't  come  over  here  any  more,  to  the  danger  of 
your  losing  it  ?  Do  you  think  you  can  better  your- 
selves on  that  subject  by  leaving  us  here  under  no 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  2OI 

obligation  whatever  to  return  these  specimens  of 
your  movable  property  that  come  hither?  You 
have  divided  the  Union  because  we  would  not  do 
right  with  you,  as  you  think,  upon  that  subject. 
When  we  cease  to  be  under  obligation  to  do  any- 
thing for  you,  how  much  better  off  do  you  think 
you  will  be?  Why,  gentlemen,  I  think  you  are 
as  gallant  and  brave  men  as  live ;  that  you  can 
fight  as  bravely  in  a  good  cause,  man  for  man,  as 
any  other  people  living;  that  you  have  shown 
yourselves  capable  of  this  upon  various  occasions  : 
but  man  for  man  you  are  not  better  than  we  are, 
and  there  are  not  so  many  of  you  as  there  are  of 
us.  You  will  never  make  much  of  a  hand  at 
whipping  us.  If  we  were  fewer  in  numbers  than 
you,  I  think  you  could  whip  us ;  if  we  were  equal, 
it  would  likely  be  a  drawn  battle ;  but  being  in- 
ferior in  numbers,  you  will  make  nothing  by 
attempting  to  master  us.  ... 


"  Labour  is  the  great  source  from  which  nearly 
all,  if  not  all,  human  comforts  and  necessities  are 
drawn.  There  is  a  difference  in  opinion  about 
the  elements  of  labour  in  society.  Some  men 
assume  that  there  is  a  necessary  connection  be- 
tween capital  and  labour,  and  that  connection 


202  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

draws  within  it  the  whole  of  the  labour  of  the 
community.  They  assume  that  nobody  works 
unless  capital  excites  them  to  work.  They  begin 
next  to  consider  what  is  the  best  way.  They  say 
there  are  but  two  ways,  —  one  is  to  hire  men  and  to 
allure  them  to  labour  by  their  consent ;  the  other 
is  to  buy  the  men,  and  drive  them  to  it,  and  that 
is  slavery.  Having  assumed  that,  they  proceed 
to  discuss  the  question  of  whether  the  labourers 
themselves  are  better  off  in  the  condition  of  slaves 
or  of  hired  labourers,  and  they  usually  decide  that 
they  are  better  off  in  the  condition  of  slaves. 

"  In  the  first  place  I  say,  the  whole  thing  is  a 
mistake.  That  there  is  a  certain  relation  between 
capital  and  labour,  I  admit.  That  it  does  exist, 
and  rightfully  exist,  I  think  is  true.  That  men 
who  are  industrious  and  sober  and  honest  in  the 
pursuit  of  their  own  interests  should  after  a  while 
accumulate  capital,  and  after  that  should  be  al- 
lowed to  enjoy  it  in  peace,  and  also  if  they  should 
choose,  when  they  have  accumulated  it,  to  use  it 
to  save  themselves  from  actual  labour,  and  hire 
other  people  to  labour  for  them,  —  is  right.  In 
doing  so,  they  do  not  wrong  the  man  they  em- 
ploy, for  they  find  men  who  have  not  their  own 
land  to  work  upon,  or  shops  to  work  in,  and  who 
are  benefited  by  working  for  others,  —  hired  la- 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  203 

bourers,  receiving  their  capital  for  it.  Thus  a  few 
men  that  own  capital  hire  a  few  others,  and  these 
establish  the  relation  of  capital  and  labour  right- 
fully —  a  relation  of  which  I  make  no  complaint. 
But  I  insist  that  that  relation,  after  all,  does  not 
embrace  more  than  one  eighth  of  the  labour  of  the 
country. 

"...  I  have  taken  upon  myself  ...  to  say 
that  upon  these  principles  all  expect  ultimately 
to  win.  In  order  to  do  so,  I  think  we  want  and 
must  have  a  national  policy  in  regard  to  the  in- 
stitution of  slavery  that  acknowledges  and  deals 
with  that  institution  as  being  wrong. 

"  Whoever  desires  the  prevention  of  the  spread 
of  slavery  and  the  nationalization  of  that  institu- 
tion, yields  all  when  he  yields  to  any  policy  that 
either  recognises  slavery  as  being  right,  or  as  being 
an  indifferent  thing.  Nothing  will  make  you  suc- 
cessful but  setting  up  a  policy  which  shall  treat 
the  thing  as  being  wrong.  .  .  .  We  believe  that 
the  spreading  out  and  perpetuity  of  the  institu- 
tion of  slavery  impairs  the  general  welfare.  We 
believe,  nay,  we  know,  that  that  is  the  only  thing 
that  has  ever  threatened  the  perpetuity  of  the 
Union  itself.  The  only  thing  which  has  ever  men- 
aced the  destruction  of  the  government  under 
which  we  live  is  this  very  thing.  To  repress 


204  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

this  thing,  we  think  is  providing  for  the  genera] 
welfare.  .  .  . 

"...  There  are  a  plenty  of  men  in  the  slave 
States  that  are  altogether  good  enough  for  me, 
to  be  either  President  or  Vice- President,  provided 
they  will  profess  their  sympathy  with  our  purpose, 
and  will  place  themselves  on  such  ground  that 
our  men  upon  principle  can  vote  for  them.  There 
are  scores  of  them  —  good  men  in  their  character 
for  intelligence,  for  talent  and  integrity.  If  such 
an  one  will  place  himself  upon  the  right  ground,  I 
am  for  his  occupying  one  place  upon  the  next  Re- 
publican or  opposition  ticket.  I  will  go  heartily 
for  him.  But  unless  he  does  so  place  himself,  I 
think  it  is  perfect  nonsense  to  attempt  to  bring 
about  a  union  upon  any  other  basis ;  that  if  a 
union  be  made,  the  elements  will  so  scatter  that 
there  can  be  no  success  for  such  a  ticket.  The 
good  old  maxims  of  the  Bible  are  applicable,  and 
truly  applicable,  to  human  affairs ;  and  in  this,  as 
in  other  things,  we  may  say  that  he  who  is  not 
for  us  is  against  us ;  he  who  gathereth  not  with 
us,  scattereth.  I  should  be  glad  to  have  some 
of  the  many  good  and  able  and  noble  men  of 
the  South  place  themselves  where  we  can  confer 
upon  them  the  high  honour  of  an  election  upon 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  205 

one  or  the  other  end  of  our  ticket.  It  would 
do  my  soul  good  to  do  that  thing.  It  would  en- 
able us  to  teach  them  that  inasmuch  as  we  select 
one  of  their  own  number  to  carry  out  our  prin- 
ciples, we  are  free  from  the  charge  that  we  mean 
more  than  we  say." 


FROM  HIS  SPEECH  OF  FEBRUARY  27,  1860,  AT  THE 
COOPER  INSTITUTE,  NEW  YORK. 

[NOTE.  —  In  this  speech  Mr.  Lincoln  main- 
tained the  negative  of  a  question  upon  which 
the  Douglas  Democrats  held  the  affirmative,  viz., 
Whether  there  was  anything  in  the  Constitution 
which  forbade  the  Federal  government  to  control 
slavery  in  the  Territories  of  the  United  States? 
After  clearly  showing  that  the  thirty-nine  mem- 
bers of  the  convention  who  signed  the  Constitu- 
tion, and  the  seventy-six  members  of  the  Congress 
which  framed  the  amendments  to  it,  also  held  the 
negative  of  this  question,  he  dealt  with  the  threats 
of  the  South  to  disrupt  the  Union  if  a  Republican 
President  was  elected,  and  the  duty  of  loyal  citi- 
zens to  defend  and  maintain  it.  He  said]  : 

"  It  is  surely  safe  to  assume  that  the  thirty- 
nine  framers  of  the  original  Constitution,  and 
the  seventy- six  members  of  the  Congress  which 
iramed  the  amendments  thereto,  taken  together, 


206  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

do  certainly  include  those  who  may  be  fairly 
called  '  our  fathers  who  framed  the  government 
under  which  we  live.'  And  so  assuming,  I  defy 
any  man  to  show  that  any  one  of  them  ever,  in 
his  whole  life,  declared  that,  in  his  understanding, 
any  proper  division  of  local  from  Federal  authority, 
or  any  part  of  the  Constitution,  forbade  the  Federal 
government  to  control  as  to  slavery  in  the  Federal 
Territories.  I  go  a  step  further.  I  defy  any  one 
to  show  that  any  living  man  in  the  whole  world 
ever  did,  prior  to  the  beginning  of  the  present  cen- 
tury (and  I  might  almost  say,  prior  to  the  beginning 
of  the  last  half  of  the  present  century) ,  declare  that, 
in  his  understanding,  any  proper  division  of  local 
from  Federal  authority,  or  any  part  of  the  Con- 
stitution, forbade  the  Federal  government  to  con- 
trol as  to  slavery  in  the  Federal  Territories.  To 
those  who  now  so  declare,  I  give  not  only  '  our 
fathers  who  framed  the  government  under  which 
we  live,'  but  with  them  all  other  living  men  within 
the  century  in  which  it  was  framed,  among  whom 
to  search,  and  they  shall  not  be  able  to  find  the 
evidence  of  a  single  man  agreeing  with  them. 

"  But  enough  !  Let  all  who  believe  that  '  our 
fathers  who  framed  the  government  under  which 
we  live  understood  this  question  just  as  well,  and 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  207 

even  better  than  we  do  now,'  speak  as  they  spoke, 
and  act  as  they  acted  upon  it.  This  is  all  Re- 
publicans ask,  all  Republicans  desire,  in  relation 
to  slavery.  As  those  fathers  marked  it,  so  let  it 
again  be  marked,  as  an  evil  not  to  be  extended, 
but  to  be  tolerated  and  protected  only  because 
of  and  so  far  as  its  actual  presence  among  us 
makes  that  toleration  and  protection  a  necessity. 
Let  all  the  guaranties  those  fathers  gave  it  be  not 
grudgingly,  but  fully  and  fairly  maintained.  For 
this  Republicans  contend,  and  with  this,  so  far  as 
I  know  or  believe,  they  will  be  content. 

"  And  now,  if  they  would  listen,  as  I  suppose 
they  will  not,  I  would  address  a  few  words  to  the 
Southern  people. 

"  I  would  say  to  them  :  You  consider  yourselves 
a  reasonable  and  a  just  people ;  and  I  consider 
that  in  the  general  qualities  of  reason  and  justice 
you  are  not  inferior  to  any  other  people.  Still, 
when  you  speak  of  us  Republicans,  you  do  so 
only  to  denounce  us, as  reptiles,  or,  at  the  best, 
as  no  better  than  outlaws.  You  will  grant  a  hear- 
ing to  pirates  or  murderers,  but  nothing  like  it 
to  '  Black  Republicans.'  In  all  your  contentions 
with  one  another,  each  of  you  deems  an  uncon- 
ditional condemnation  of  '  Black  Republicanism ' 
as  the  first  thing  to  be  attended  to.  Indeed, 


208  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

such  condemnation  of  us  seems  to  be  an  indis- 
pensable prerequisite,  licence,  so  to  speak,  among 
you,  to  be  admitted  or  permitted  to  speak  at  all. 
Now,  can  you  or  not  be  prevailed  upon  to  pause 
and  to  consider  whether  this  is  quite  just  to  us,  or 
even  to  yourselves?  Bring  forward  your  charges 
and  specifications,  and  then  be  patient  long 
enough  to  hear  us  deny  or  justify. 

"  You  say  we  are  sectional.  We  deny  it.  That 
makes  an  issue  ;  and  the  burden  of  proof  is  upon 
you.  You  produce  your  proof,  and  what  is  it? 
Why,  that  our  party  has  no  existence  in  your 
section  —  gets  no  votes  in  your  section.  The 
fact  is  substantially  true ;  but  does  it  prove  the 
issue?  If  it  does,  then  in  case  we  should,  with- 
out change  of  principle,  begin  to  get  votes  in 
your  section,  we  should  thereby  cease  to  be  sec- 
tional. You  cannot  escape  this  conclusion ;  and 
yet,  are  you  willing  to  abide  by  it  ?  If  you  are, 
you  will  probably  soon  find  that  we  have  ceased 
to  be  sectional,  for  we  shall  get  votes  in  your 
section  this  very  year.  .  .  .  The  fact  that  we  get 
no  votes  in  your  section,  is  a  fact  of  your  making 
and  not  of  ours.  And  if  there  be  fault  in  that 
fact,  that  fault  is  primarily  yours,  and  remains  so 
until  you  show  that  we  repel  you  by  some  wrong 
principle  or  practice.  If  we  do  repel  you  by  any 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  2OQ 

wrong  principle  or  practice,  the  fault  is  ours ; 
but  this  brings  you  to  where  you  ought  to  have 
started,  —  to  a  discussion  of  the  right  or  wrong 
of  our  principle.  If  our  principle,  put  in  prac- 
tice, would  wrong  your  section  for  the  benefit  of 
ours,  or  for  any  other  object,  then  our  principle 
and  we  with  it  are  sectional,  and  are  justly  op- 
posed and  denounced  as  such.  Meet  us,  then, 
on  the  question  of  whether  our  principle,  put  in 
practice,  would  wrong  your  section,  and  so  meet 
us  as  if  it  were  possible  that  something  may  be 
said  on  our  side.  Do  you  accept  the  challenge  ? 
No  !  Then  you  really  believe  that  the  principle 
which  '  our  fathers  who  framed  the  government 
under  which  we  live  '  thought  so  clearly  right  as 
to  adopt  it,  and  indorse  it  again  and  again  upon 
their  official  oaths,  is,  in  fact,  so  clearly  wrong  as 
to  demand  your  condemnation  without  a  moment's 
consideration. 

"  Some  of  you  delight  to  flaunt  in  our  faces  the 
warning  against  sectional  parties  given  by  Wash- 
ington in  his  Farewell  Address.  Less  than  eight 
years  before  Washington  gave  that  warning,  he 
had,  as  President  of  the  United  States,  approved 
and  signed  an  act  of  Congress  enforcing  the  pro- 
hibition of  slavery  in  the  Northwestern  Territory  ; 
.  .  .  and  about  one  year  after  he  penned  it  [that 
14 


210  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

warning]  he  wrote  Lafayette  that  he  considered 
that  prohibition  a  wise  measure,  expressing  in  the 
same  connection  his  hope  that  we  should  at  some 
time  have  a  confederacy  of  free  States.  .  .  . 

"Again,  you  say  we  have  made  the  slavery 
question  more  prominent  than  it  formerly  was. 
We  deny  it.  ...  It  was  not  we  but  you  who  dis- 
carded the  old  policy  of  the  fathers.  We  resisted, 
and  still  resist,  your  innovation  ;  and  thence  comes 
the  greater  prominence  of  the  question.  Would 
you  have  that  question  reduced  to  its  former  pro- 
portions? Go  back  to  that  old  policy.  ...  If 
you  would  have  the  peace  of  the  old  times,  re- 
adopt  the  precepts  and  policy  of  the  old  times. 

"You  charge  that  we  stir  up  insurrections  among 
your  slaves.  We  deny  it ;  and  what  is  your  proof? 
Harper's  Ferry?  John  Brown?  John  Brown 
was  no  Republican ;  and  you  have  failed  to  im- 
plicate a  single  Republican  in  his  Harper's  Ferry 
enterprise.  If  any  member  of  our  party  is  guilty 
in  that  matter,  you  know  it,  or  you  do  not  know 
it.  If  you  do  know  it,  you  are  inexcusable  for 
not  designating  the  man  and  proving  the  fact. 
If  you  do  not  know  it,  you  are  inexcusable  for 
asserting  it.  ... 

"...  John  Brown's  effort  was  peculiar.  It 
was  not  a  slave  insurrection.  It  was  an  attempt 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  211 

by  white  men  to  get  up  a  revolt  among  slaves,  in 
which  the  slaves  refused  to  participate.  In  fact, 
it  was  so  absurd  that  the  slaves,  with  all  their 
ignorance,  saw  plainly  enough  it  could  not  suc- 
ceed. That  affair,  in  its  philosophy,  corresponds 
with  the  many  attempts  ...  at  the  assassination 
of  kings  and  emperors.  An  enthusiast  .  .  .  ven- 
tures the  attempt,  .  .  .  which  ends  in  little  else 
than  his  own  execution.  .  .  . 

"...  But  you  will  not  abide  the  election  of  a 
Republican  president !  In  that  supposed  event, 
you  say  you  will  destroy  the  Union ;  and  then 
you  say  the  great  crime  of  having  destroyed  it 
will  be  upon  us  !  That  is  cool.  A  highwayman 
holds  a  pistol  to  my  ear,  and  mutters  through  his 
teeth,  '  Stand  and  deliver,  or  I  shall  kill  you,  and 
then  you  will  be  a  murderer  ! ' 

"  If  slavery  is  right,  all  words,  acts,  laws,  and 
constitutions  against  it  are  themselves  wrong,  and 
should  be  silenced  and  swept  away.  If  it  is  right, 
we  cannot  justly  object  to  its  nationality — its  uni- 
versality ;  if  it  is  wrong,  they  cannot  justly  insist 
upon  its  extension  —  its  enlargement.  All  they 
ask  we  could  readily  grant,  if  we  thought  slavery 
right ;  all  we  ask  they  could  as  readily  grant  if 


212  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

they  thought  it  wrong.  Their  thinking  it  right 
and  our  thinking  it  wrong,  is  the  precise  fact 
upon  which  depends  the  whole  controversy. 
Thinking  it  right,  as  they  do,  they  are  not  to 
blame  for  desiring  its  full  recognition  as  being 
right ;  but  thinking  it  wrong,  as  we  do,  can  we 
yield  to  them?  Can  we  cast  our  votes  with  their 
view,  and  against  our  own  ?  In  view  of  our  moral, 
social,  and  political  responsibilities,  can  we  do 
this? 

"  Wrong  as  we  think  slavery  is,  we  can  yet 
afford  to  let  it  alone  where  it  is,  because  that 
much  is  due  to  the  necessity  arising  from  its 
actual  presence  in  the  nation ;  but  can  we,  while 
our  votes  will  prevent  it,  allow  it  to  spread  into 
the  national  Territories,  and  to  overrun  us  here  in 
these  free  States?  If  our  sense  of  duty  forbids 
this,  then  let  us  stand  by  our  duty  fearlessly  and 
effectively.  Let  us  be  diverted  by  none  of  those 
sophistical  contrivances  wherewith  we  are  so  in- 
dustriously plied  and  belaboured,  —  contrivances 
such  as  groping  for  some  middle  ground  between 
the  right  and  the  wrong,  vain  as  the  search  for 
a  man  who  should  be  neither  a  living  man  nor  a 
dead  man ;  such  as  a  policy  of  '  don't  care,'  on 
a  question  about  which  all  true  men  do  care ; 
such  as  Union  appeals  beseeching  true  Union  men 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  21$ 

to  yield  to  disunionists,  reversing  the  Divine  rule, 
and  calling  not  the  sinners,  but  the  righteous  to 
repentance ;  such  as  invocations  to  Washington, 
imploring  men  to  unsay  what  Washington  said, 
and  undo  what  Washington  did. 

"  Neither  let  us  be  slandered  from  our  duty  by 
false  accusations  against  us,  nor  frightened  from 
it  by  menaces  of  destruction  to  the  government, 
nor  of  dungeons  to  ourselves.  Let  us  have  faith 
that  right  makes  might,  and  in  that  faith  let  us  to 
the  end  dare  to  do  our  duty  as  we  understand  it." 


FROM  HIS  SPEECH  AT  NEW  HAVEN,  CONNECTICUT. 

March  6,  1860. 

[NOTE.  —  This  speech  was  in  large  part  a 
repetition  of  his  speech  at  the  Cooper  Institute 
in  New  York  on  the  2yth  of  February,  1860,  the 
phraseology  being  slightly  changed  in  some  para- 
graphs and  unchanged  in  others.  One  of  his 
illustrations  of  the  right  of  the  people  of  the  free 
States  —  while  leaving  slavery  alone  in  the  slave 
States  —  to  prevent  its  extension,  was  new  and 
forcible.  After  stating  that  the  Tariff,  the  Na- 
tional Domain,  and  other  subjects  of  national 
interest  would  not  receive  attention  while  the 
question  of  the  extension  of  slavery  remained 
open,  he  asked  :] 


214  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

"  .  .  .  What  ever  endangered  this  Union  save 
and  except  slavery?  Did  any  other  thing  ever 
cause  a  moment's  fear  ?  All  men  must  agree  that 
this  thing  alone  has  ever  endangered  the  per- 
petuity of  the  Union.  But  if  it  was  ever  threat- 
ened by  any  other  influence,  would  not  all  men 
say  that  the  best  thing  that  could  be  done,  if  we 
could  not  or  ought  not  to  destroy  it,  would  be  at 
least  to  keep  it  from  growing  any  larger?  Can 
any  man  believe  that  the  way  to  save  the  Union 
is  to  extend  and  increase  the  only  thing  that 
threatens  the  Union,  and  to  suffer  it  to  grow 
bigger  and  bigger? 

"...  There  are  but  two  policies  in  regard  to 
slavery  that  can  be  at  all  maintained.  The  first, 
based  on  the  property  view,  that  slavery  is  right, 
conforms  to  that  idea  throughout,  and  demands 
that  we  should  do  everything  for  it  that  we  ought 
to  do  if  it  were  right.  .  .  . 

"...  The  other  policy  is  one  that  squares 
with  the  idea  that  slavery  is  wrong,  and  it  con- 
sists in  doing  everything  that  we  ought  to  do  if 
it  is  wrong.  Now  I  don't  wish  to  be  misunder- 
stood, nor  to  leave  a  gap  down,  to  be  misrepre- 
sented, even.  I  don't  mean  that  we  ought  to 
attack  it  where  it  exists.  To  me  it  seems  that 
if  we  were  to  form  a  government  anew,  in  view 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  21$ 

of  the  actual  presence  of  slavery,  we  should  find 
it  necessary  to  frame  just  such  a  government  as 
our  fathers  did,  —  giving  to  the  slaveholder  the 
entire  control  where  the  system  was  established, 
while  we  possess  the  power  to  restrain  it  from 
going  outside  those  limits.  From  the  necessities 
of  the  case,  we  should  be  compelled  to  form  just 
such  a  government  as  our  blessed  fathers  gave 
us ;  and  surely  if  they  have  so  made  it,  that  adds 
another  reason  why  we  should  let  slavery  alone 
where  it  exists. 

If  I  saw  a  venomous  snake  crawling  in  the  road, 
any  man  would  say  I  might  seize  the  nearest 
stick  and  kill  it ;  but  if  I  found  that  snake  in  bed 
with  my  children,  that  would  be  another  question. 
I  might  hurt  the  children  more  than  the  snake, 
and  it  might  bite  them.  Much  more,  if  I  found 
it  in  bed  with  my  neighbour's  children,  and  I  had 
bound  myself  by  a  solemn  compact  not  to  med- 
dle with  his  children  under  any  circumstances,  it 
would  become  me  to  let  that  particular  mode 
of  getting  rid  of  the  gentleman  alone.  But  if 
there  was  a  bed  newly  made  up,  to  which  the 
children  were  to  be  taken,  and  it  was  proposed 
to  take  a  batch  of  young  snakes  and  put  them 
there  with  them,  I  take  it  no  man  would  say  there 
was  any  question  how  I  ought  to  decide  ! 


2l6  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

"  That  is  just  the  case.  The  new  Territories 
are  the  newly  made  bed  to  which  our  children 
are  to  go,  and  it  lies  with  the  nation  to  say 
whether  they  shall  have  snakes  mixed  up  with 
them  or  not.  It  does  not  seem  as  if  there  could 
be  much  hesitation  what  our  policy  should  be.  ..." 

[After  adverting  to  several  of  the  arguments  of 
the  proslavery  Democrats,  as  '  bushwhacking,'  he 
continued :  — ] 

"...  Another  is  John  Brown  !  You  stir  up 
insurrections ;  you  invade  the  South !  John 
Brown  !  Harper's  Ferry !  Why,  John  Brown 
was  not  a  Republican !  You  have  never  im- 
plicated a  single  Republican  in  that  Harper's 
Ferry  enterprise.  We  tell  you  if  any  member 
of  the  Republican  party  is  guilty  in  that  matter, 
you  know  it  or  you  do  not  know  it.  If  you  do 
know  it,  you  are  inexcusable  not  to  designate  the 
man  and  prove  the  fact.  If  you  do  not  know  it, 
you  are  inexcusable  to  assert  it,  and  especially 
to  persist  in  the  assertion  after  you  have  tried  and 
failed  to  make  the  proof.  You  need  not  be  told 
that  persisting  in  a  charge  which  one  does  not 
know  to  be  true,  is  simply  a  malicious  slander. 
Some  of  you  admit  that  no  Republican  designedly 
aided  or  encouraged  the  Harper's  Ferry  affair, 
but  still  insist  that  our  doctrines  and  declarations 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  217 

necessarily  lead  to  such  results.  We  do  not 
believe  it.  We  know  we  hold  to  no  doctrines 
and  make  no  declarations  which  were  not  held 
to  and  made  by  our  fathers  who  framed  the  gov- 
ernment under  which  we  live,  and  we  cannot 
see  how  declarations  that  were  patriotic  when 
they  made  them  are  villainous  when  we  make 
them.  You  never  dealt  fairly  by  us  in  relation 
to  that  affair,  and  I  will  say  frankly  that  I  know 
of  nothing  in  your  character  that  should  lead  us 
to  suppose  that  you  would.  You  had  just  been 
soundly  thrashed  in  the  elections  in  several  States, 
and  others  were  soon  to  come.  You  rejoiced  at 
the  occasion,  and  only  were  troubled  that  there 
were  not  three  times  as  many  killed  in  the  affair. 
You  were  in  evident  glee ;  there  was  no  sorrow 
for  the  killed,  nor  for  the  peace  of  Virginia  dis- 
turbed. You  were  rejoicing  that  by  charging 
Republicans  with  this  thing,  you  might  get  an 
advantage  of  us  in  New  York  and  the  other 
States.  You  pulled  that  string  as  tightly  as  you 
could,  but  your  very  generous  and  worthy  expec- 
tations were  not  quite  fulfilled.  Each  Republican 
knew  that  the  charge  was  a  slander,  as  to  himself 
at  least,  and  was  not  inclined  by  it  to  cast  his 
vote  in  your  favour.  It  was  mere  bushwhacking 
because  you  had  nothing  else  to  do.  You  are 


218  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

still  on  that  track,  and  I  say  go  on  !  If  you 
think  you  can  slander  a  woman  into  loving  you 
or  a  man  into  voting  for  you,  try  it  until  you  are 
satisfied. 

"Another  specimen  of  this  bushwhacking, — 
that  'shoe  strike.'  Now,  be  it  understood  that 
I  do  not  pretend  to  know  all  about  the  matter. 
I  am  merely  going  to  speculate  a  little  about 
some  of  its  phases ;  and,  at  the  outset,  I  am  glad 
to  see  that  a  system  of  labour  prevails  in  New 
England  under  which  labourers  can  strike  when 
they  want  to ;  when  they  are  not  obliged  to  work 
under  all  circumstances,  and  are  not  tied  down 
and  obliged  to  labour  whether  you  pay  them  or 
not !  I  like  the  system  which  lets  a  man  quit 
when  he  wants  to,  and  wish  it  might  prevail 
everywhere.  One  of  the  reasons  why  I  am  op- 
posed to  slavery  is  just  here.  What  is  the  true 
condition  of  the  labourer?  I  take  it  that  it  is 
best  for  all  to  leave  each  man  free  to  acquire 
property  as  fast  as  he  can.  Some  will  get  wealthy. 
I  don't  believe  in  a  law  to  prevent  a  man  from 
getting  rich ;  it  would  do  more  harm  than  good. 
So  while  we  do  not  propose  any  war  upon  capital, 
we  do  wish  to  allow  the  humblest  man  an  equal 
chance  to  get  rich  with  everybody  else.  When 
one  starts  poor,  as  most  do  in  the  race  of  life, 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  2ig 

free  society  is  such  that  when  he  knows  he  can 
better  his  condition,  he  knows  that  there  is  no 
fixed  condition  of  labour  for  his  whole  life.  I  am 
not  ashamed  to  confess  that  twenty-five  years  ago 
I  was  a  hired  labourer,  mauling  rails,  at  work  on  a 
flat-boat — just  what  might  happen  to  any  poor 
man's  son.  I  want  every  man  to  have  the  chance 
—  and  I  believe  a  black  man  is  entitled  to  it  — 
in  which  he  can  better  his  condition  ;  when  he 
may  look  forward  and  hope  to  be  a  hired  labourer 
this  year,  and  the  next  work  for  himself  afterward, 
and  finally  to  hire  men  to  work  for  him.  That  is 
the  true  system.  Up  here  in  New  England  you 
have  a  soil  that  scarcely  sprouts  black-eyed  beans, 
and  yet  where  will  you  find  wealthy  men  so  wealthy, 
and  poverty  so  rarely  in  extremity  ?  There  is  not 
another  such  place  on  earth  !  I  desire  that  if 
you  get  too  thick  here,  and  find  it  hard  to  better 
your  condition  on  this  soil,  you  may  have  a  chance 
to  strike  and  go  somewhere  else,  where  you  may 
not  be  degraded,  nor  have  your  family  corrupted 
by  forced  rivalry  with  negro  slaves.  I  want  you 
to  have  a  clean  bed  and  no  snakes  in  it.  Then 
you  can  better  your  condition,  and  so  it  may  go 
on  and  on  in  one  ceaseless  round  so  long  as  man 
exists  on  the  face  of  the  earth. 

"  Now  to  come  back  to  this  shoe  strike.     If, 


220  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

as  the  senator  from  Illinois  asserts,  this  is  caused 
by  the  withdrawal  of  Southern  votes,  consider 
briefly  how  you  will  meet  the  difficulty.  You 
have  done  nothing,  and  have  protested  that  you 
have  done  nothing,  to  injure  the  South ;  and  yet 
to  get  back  the  shoe  trade  you  must  leave  off 
doing  something  that  you  are  now  doing.  What 
is  it?  You  must  stop  thinking  slavery  wrong. 
Let  your  institutions  be  wholly  changed ;  let  your 
State  constitutions  be  subverted ;  glorify  slavery ; 
and  so  you  will  get  back  the  shoe  trade  —  for  what  ? 
You  have  brought  owned  labour  with  it  to  com- 
pete with  your  own  labour,  to  underwork  you  and 
to  degrade  you.  Are  you  ready  to  get  back  the 
trade  on  those  terms? 

"  But  the  statement  is  not  correct.  You  have 
not  lost  that  trade  ;  orders  were  never  better  than 
now.  Senator  Mason,  a  Democrat,  comes  into 
the  Senate  in  homespun  :  a  proof  that  the  disso- 
lution of  the  Union  has  actually  begun.  But 
orders  are  the  same.  Your  factories  have  not 
struck  work,  neither  those  where  they  make  any- 
thing for  coats,  nor  for  pants,  nor  for  shirts,  nor 
for  ladies'  dresses.  Mr.  Mason  has  not  reached 
the  manufacturers  who  ought  to  have  made  him 
a  coat  and  pants.  To  make  his  proof  good  for 
anything,  he  should  have  come  into  the  Senate 
barefoot. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  221 

"  Another  bushwhacking  contrivance,  —  simply 
that,  nothing  else  !  I  find  a  good  many  people 
who  are  very  much  concerned  about  the  loss  of 
Southern  trade.  Now,  either  these  people  are 
sincere  or  they  are  not.  I  will  speculate  a  little 
about  that.  If  they  are  sincere,  and  are  moved 
by  any  real  danger  of  the  loss  of  Southern  trade, 
they  will  simply  get  their  names  on  the  white  list, 
and  then  instead  of  persuading  Republicans  to 
do  likewise,  they  will  be  glad  to  keep  you  away. 
Don't  you  see  they  are  thus  shutting  off  compe- 
tition? They  would  not  be  whispering  around 
to  Republicans  to  come  in  and  share  the  profits 
with  them.  But  if  they  are  not  sincere,  and  are 
merely  trying  to  fool  Republicans  out  of  their 
votes,  they  will  grow  very  anxious  about  your 
pecuniary  prospects ;  they  are  afraid  you  are 
going  to  get  broken  up  and  ruined ;  they  did  not 
care  about  Democratic  votes  —  oh  no,  no,  no  ! 
You  must  judge  which  class  those  belong  to 
whom  you  meet.  I  leave  it  to  you  to  determine 
from  the  facts." 


222  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


His  LETTER  TO  HON.  GEO.  ASHMUN,  PRESIDENT, 

ACCEPTING     HIS     NOMINATION     FOR     THE     PRESI- 
DENCY. 

May  23,  1860. 

I  accept  the  nomination  tendered  me  by  the 
Convention  over  which  you  presided,  and  of  which 
I  am  formally  apprised  in  the  letter  of  yourself 
and  others,  acting  as  a  committee  of  the  Con- 
vention for  that  purpose. 

The  declaration  of  principles  and  sentiments 
which  accompanies  your  letter,  meets  my  ap- 
proval ;  and  it  shall  be  my  care  not  to  violate 
or  disregard  it  in  any  part. 

Imploring  the  assistance  of  Divine  Providence, 
and  with  due  regard  to  the  views  and  feelings  of 
all  who  were  represented  in  the  Convention ; 
to  the  rights  of  all  the  States  and  Territories  and 
people  of  the  nation ;  to  the  inviolability  of  the 
Constitution ;  and  the  perpetual  union,  harmony, 
and  prosperity  of  all,  —  I  am  most  happy  to  co- 
operate for  the  practical  success  of  the  principles 
declared  by  the  Convention. 

Your  obliged  friend  and  fellow-citizen, 

A.  LINCOLN. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  223 


To  THE   CITIZENS  OF  SPRINGFIELD,  ON  HIS  DE- 
PARTURE FOR  WASHINGTON. 

February  n,  1861. 

MY  FRIENDS  :  No  one,  not  in  my  position,  can 
appreciate  the  sadness  I  feel  at  this  parting.  To 
this  people  I  owe  all  that  I  am.  Here  I  have 
lived  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century ;  here  my 
children  were  born,  and  here  one  of  them  lies 
buried.  I  know  not  how  soon  I  shall  see  you 
again.  A  duty  devolves  upon  me  which  is,  per- 
haps, greater  than  that  which  has  devolved  upon 
any  other  man  since  the  days  of  Washington. 
He  never  would  have  succeeded  except  by  the 
aid  of  Divine  Providence,  upon  which  he  at  all 
times  relied.  I  feel  that  I  cannot  succeed  with- 
out the  same  Divine  aid  which  sustained  him,  and 
on  the  same  Almighty  Being  I  place  my  reliance 
for  support ;  and  I  hope  you,  my  friends,  will  all 
pray  that  I  may  receive  that  Divine  assistance, 
without  which  I  cannot  succeed,  but  with  which 
success  is  certain.  Again  I  bid  you  an  affectionate 
farewell. 


224  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

FROM  HIS  REMARKS  AT  INDIANAPOLIS,  INDIANA. 

February  n,  1861. 

"  When  the  people  rise  in  mass  in  behalf  of  the 
Union  and  the  liberties  of  their  country,  truly  may 
it  be  said  '  The  gates  of  hell  cannot  prevail  against 
them.'  In  all  trying  positions  in  which  I  shall  be 
placed,  —  and  doubtless  I  shall  be  placed  in  many 
such,  —  my  reliance  will  be  placed  upon  you  and 
the  people  of  the  United  States ;  and  I  wish  you 
to  remember,  now  and  forever,  that  it  is  your 
business  and  not  mine ;  that  if  the  Union  of  these 
States  and  the  liberties  of  this  people  shall  be  lost, 
it  is  but  little  to  any  one  man  of  fifty-two  years  of 
age,  but  a  great  deal  to  the  thirty  millions  of  people 
who  inhabit  these  United  States,  and  to  their  pos- 
terity in  all  coming  time.  It  is  your  business  to 
rise  up  and  preserve  the  Union  and  liberty  for 
yourselves,  and  not  for  me. 

"  I  desire  that  [all  duties]  should  be  constitu- 
tionally performed.  I,  as  already  intimated,  am  but 
an  accidental  instrument,  temporary,  and  to  serve 
but  for  a  limited  time ;  and  I  appeal  to  you  again, 
to  constantly  bear  in  mind,  that  with  you,  and  not 
with  politicians,  not  with  presidents,  not  with 
office-seekers,  but  with  you  is  the  question,  Shall 
the  Union,  and  shall  the  liberties  of  this  country, 
be  preserved  to  the  latest  generation?  " 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  22$ 


FROM    HIS    ADDRESS    TO    THE    LEGISLATURE    AT 
INDIANAPOLIS,    INDIANA. 

February  12,  1861. 

"...  Solomon  says  '  there  is  a  time  to  keep 
silence,'  and  when  men  wrangle  by  the  mouth 
with  no  certainty  that  they  mean  the  same  thing 
while  using  the  same  word,  it  perhaps  were  as  well 
if  they  would  keep  silence. 

"  The  words  '  coercion '  and  '  invasion  '  are 
much  used  in  these  day^,  and  often  with  some 
temper  and  hot  blood.  Let  us  make  sure,  if  we 
can,  that  we  do  not  misunderstand  the  meaning 
of  those  who  use  them.  Let  us  get  exact  defini- 
tions of  these  words,  not  from  dictionaries,  but 
from  the  men  themselves,  who  certainly  deprecate 
the  things  they  would  represent  by  the  use  of 
words.  What  then  is  coercion  ?  what  is  invasion  ? 
Would  the  marching  of  an  army  into  South  Caro- 
lina, without  the  consent  of  her  people  and  with 
hostile  intent  towards  them,  be  invasion?  I  cer- 
tainly think  it  would  ;  and  it  would  be  coercion 
also,  if  the  South  Carolinians  were  forced  to  sub- 
mit. But  if  the  United  States  should  merely  re- 
take and  hold  its  own  forts  and  other  property,  and 
collect  the  duties  on  foreign  importations,  or  even 
withhold  the  mails  from  places  where  they  were 
15 


226  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

habitually  violated,  would  any  or  all  these  things 
be  invasion  or  coercion  ?  Do  our  professed  lovers 
of  the  Union,  but  who  spitefully  resolve  that  they 
will  resist  coercion  and  invasion,  understand  that 
such  things  as  these,  on  the  part  of  the  United 
States,  would  be  coercion  or  invasion  of  a  State  ? 
If  so,  their  idea  of  means  to  preserve  the  object 
of  their  affection  would  seem  exceedingly  thin  and 
airy.  If  sick,  the  little  pills  of  the  homoeopath- 
ist  would  be  much  too  large  for  them  to  swallow. 
In  their  view,  the  Union  as  a  family  relation 
would  seem  to  be  no  regular  marriage,  but  a  sort 
of  free-love  arrangement  to  be  maintained  only  on 
passional  attraction.  .  .  . 

"  In  what  consists  the  special  sacredness  of  a 
State?  I  speak  not  of  the  position  assigned  to 
a  State  in  the  Union  by  the  Constitution ;  for 
that,  by  the  bond,  we  all  recognise.  That  posi- 
tion, however,  a  State  cannot  carry  out  of  the 
Union  with  it.  I  speak  of  that  assumed  primary 
right  of  a  State  to  rule  all  which  is  less  than  itself, 
and  ruin  all  which  is  larger  than  itself.  If  a  State 
and  a  county  in  a  given  case  should  be  equal  in 
extent  of  territory,  and  equal  in  number  of  inhab- 
itants, in  what,  as  a  matter  of  principle,  is  the 
State  better  than  the  county?  Would  an  ex- 
change of  names  be  an  exchange  of  rights  upon 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


principle?  On  what  rightful  principle  may  a 
State,  being  not  more  than  one-fiftieth  part  of 
the  nation  in  soil  and  population,  break  up  the 
nation,  and  then  coerce  a  proportionally  larger 
subdivision  of  itself  in  the  most  arbitrary  way? 
What  mysterious  right  to  play  tyrant  is  conferred 
on  a  district  of  country,  with  its  people,  by  merely 
calling  it  a  State  ? 

"  Fellow-  citizens,  I  am  not  asserting  anything  : 
I  am  merely  asking  questions  for  you  to  consider. 


FROM  HIS  ADDRESS  TO  THE  LEGISLATURE  AT  CO- 
LUMBUS, OHIO. 

February  13,  1861. 

"  It  is  true,  as  has  been  said  by  the  president 
of  the  Senate,  that  a  very  great  responsibility  rests 
upon  me  in  the  position  to  which  the  votes  of  the 
American  people  have  called  me.  I  am  deeply 
sensible  of  that  weighty  responsibility.  I  cannot 
but  know,  what  you  all  know,  that  without  a  name, 
perhaps  without  a  reason  why  I  should  have  a 
name,  there  has  fallen  upon  me  a  task  such  as 
did  not  rest  even  upon  the  Father  of  his  Country  ; 
and  so  feeling,  I  cannot  but  turn  and  look  for 
that  support  without  which  it  will  be  impossible 
for  me  to  perform  that  great  task.  I  turn  then, 


228  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

and  look  to  the  great  American  people,  and  to 
that  God  who  has  never  forsaken  them.  Allusion 
has  been  made  to  the  interest  felt  in  relation  to 
the  policy  of  the  new  Administration.  In  this  I 
have  received  from  some  a  degree  of  credit  for 
having  kept  silence,  and  from  others,  some  depre- 
cation. I  still  think  I  was  right. 

"  In  the  varying  and  repeatedly  shifting  scenes 
of  the  present,  and  without  a  precedent  which 
could  enable  me  to  judge  by  the  past,  it  has 
seemed  fitting  that  before  speaking  upon  the 
difficulties  of  the  country,  I  should  have  gained 
a  view  of  the  whole  field,  being  at  liberty  to 
modify  and  change  the  course  of  policy  as  future 
events  may  make  a  change  necessary. 

"  I  have  not  maintained  silence  from  any  want 
of  real  anxiety.  It  is  a  good  thing  that  there  is 
no  more  than  anxiety,  for  there  is  nothing  going 
wrong.  It  is  a  consoling  circumstance  that  when 
we  look  out,  there  is  nothing  that  really  hurts 
anybody.  We  entertain  different  views  upon 
political  questions,  but  nobody  is  suffering  any- 
thing. This  is  a  most  consoling  circumstance, 
and  from  it  we  may  conclude  that  all  we  want  is 
time,  patience,  and  a  reliance  on  that  God  who 
has  never  forsaken  this  people." 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  229 

FROM  HIS  REMARKS  AT  PITTSBURGH,  PENNSYLVANIA. 

February  15,  1861. 

"...  The  condition  of  the  country  is  an  ex- 
traordinary one,  and  fills  the  mind  of  every  patriot 
with  anxiety.  It  is  my  intention  to  give  this  sub- 
ject all  the  consideration  I  possibly  can,  before 
specially  deciding  in  regard  to  it,  so  that  when  I 
do  speak,  it  may  be  as  nearly  right  as  possible. 
When  I  do  speak,  I  hope  I  may  say  nothing  in 
opposition  to  the  spirit  of  the  Constitution,  con- 
trary to  the  integrity  of  the  Union,  or  which  will 
prove  inimical  to  the  liberties  of  the  people  or  to 
the  peace  of  the  whole  country.  And  further- 
more, when  the  time  arrives  for  me  to  speak  on 
this  great  subject,  I  hope  I  may  say  nothing  to 
disappoint  the  people  generally  throughoui  the 
country,  especially  if  the  expectation  has  been 
based  upon  anything  which  I  have  heretofore 
said. 

"...  If  the  great  American  people  only  keep 
their  temper  on  both  sides  of  the  line,  the  troubles 
will  come  to  an  end,  and  the  question  which  now 
distracts  the  country  will  be  settled,  just  as  surely 
as  all  other  difficulties  of  a  like  character  which 
have  originated  in  this  government  have  been 
adjusted.  Let  the  people  on  both  sides  keep 


230  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

their  self-possession,  and  just  as  other  clouds 
have  cleared  away  in  due  time,  so  will  this  great 
nation  continue  to  prosper  as  heretofore. 

"...  It  is  often  said  that  the  tariff  is  the 
specialty  of  Pennsylvania.  Assuming  that  direct 
taxation  is  not  to  be  adopted,  the  tariff  question 
must  be  as  durable  as  the  government  itself.  It 
is  a  question  of  national  housekeeping.  It  is  to 
the  government  what  replenishing  the  meal-tub 
is  to  the  family.  Ever  varying  circumstances  will 
require  frequent  modifications  as  to  the  amount 
needed  and  the  sources  of  supply.  So  far  there 
is  little  difference  of  opinion  among  the  people. 
It  is  only  whether,  and  how  far,  duties  on  imports 
shall  be  adjusted  to  favor  home  productions.  In 
the  home  market  that  controversy  begins.  One 
party  insists  that  too  much  protection  oppresses 
one  class  for  the  advantage  of  another;  while 
the  other  party  argues  that,  with  all  its  incidents, 
in  the  long  run  all  classes  are  benefited.  In  the 
Chicago  platform  there  is  a  plank  upon  this  sub- 
ject, which  should  be  a  general  law  to  the  incom- 
ing Administration.  We  should  do  neither  more 
nor  less  than  we  gave  the  people  reason  to  believe 
we  would  when  they  gave  us  their  votes.  .  .  . 

"  '  That  while  providing  revenue  for  the  support 
of  the  general  government  by  duties  upon  imports, 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  231 

sound  policy  requires  such  an  adjustment  of  these 
imposts  as  will  encourage  the  development  of  the 
industrial  interest  of  the  whole  country ;  and  we 
commend  that  policy  of  national  exchanges  which 
secures  to  working-men  liberal  wages,  to  agricul- 
ture remunerating  prices,  to  mechanics  and  man- 
ufacturers adequate  reward  for  their  skill,  labour, 
and  enterprise,  and  to  the  nation  commercial 
prosperity  and  independence.' 

"...  My  political  education  strongly  inclines 
me  against  a  very  free  use  of  any  of  the  means  by 
the  Executive  to  control  the  legislation  of  the 
country.  As  a  rule,  I  think  it  better  that  Con- 
gress should  originate  as  well  as  perfect  its  meas- 
ures without  external  bias.  I  therefore  would 
rather  recommend  to  every  gentleman  who  knows 
he  is  to  be  a  member  of  the  next  Congress,  to 
take  an  enlarged  view,  and  post  himself  thor- 
oughly, so  as  to  contribute  his  part  to  such  an 
adjustment  of  the  tariff  as  shall  provide  a  suffi- 
cient revenue,  and  in  its  other  bearings,  so  far  as 
possible,  be  just  and  equal  to  all  sections  of  the 
country  and  classes  of  the  people." 


232  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

FROM  HIS  ADDRESS  AT  TRENTON,  TO  THE  SENATE 
OF  NEW  JERSEY. 

February  21,  1861. 

"...  May  I  be  pardoned  if,  upon  this  occa- 
sion, I  mention  that  away  back  in  my  childhood, 
the  earliest  days  of  my  being  able  to  read,  I  got 
hold  of  a  small  book,  such  a  one  as  few  of  the 
younger  members  have  ever  seen,  —  '  Weems's 
Life  of  Washington.'  I  remember  all  the  ac- 
counts there  given  of  the  battlefields  and  strug- 
gles for  the  liberties  of  the  country,  and  none 
fixed  themselves  upon  my  imagination  so  deeply 
as  the  struggle  here  at  Trenton,  New  Jersey.  The 
crossing  of  the  river,  the  contest  with  the  Hes- 
sians, the  great  hardships  endured  at  that  time, 
—  all  fixed  themselves  upon  my  memory  more 
than  any  single  Revolutionary  event;  and  you 
all  know,  for  you  have  all  been  boys,  how  those 
early  impressions  last  longer  than  any  others.  I 
recollect  thinking  then,  boy  even  though  I  was, 
that  there  must  have  been  something  more  than 
common  that  these  men  struggled  for.  I  am 
exceedingly  anxious  that  that  thing  —  that  some- 
thing even  more  than  national  independence ; 
that  something  that  held  out  a  great  promise  to 
all  the  people  of  the  world  for  all  time  to  come 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  233 

—  I  am  exceedingly  anxious  that  this  Union,  this 
Constitution,  and  the  liberties  of  the  people  shall 
be  perpetuated  in  accordance  with  the  original  idea 
for  which  that  struggle  was  made ;  and  I  shall  be 
most  happy  indeed,  if  I  shall  be  a  humble  instru- 
ment in  the  hands  of  the  Almighty,  and  of  this 
his  almost  chosen  people,  for  perpetuating  the 
object  of  that  great  struggle.  You  give  me  this 
reception,  as  I  understand,  without  distinction  of 
party.  I  learn  that  this  body  is  composed  of  a 
majority  of  gentlemen,  who,  in  the  exercise  of 
their  best  judgment  in  the  choice  of  a  chief 
magistrate,  did  not  think  I  was  the  man.  I  un- 
derstand, nevertheless,  that  they  came  forward 
here  to  greet  me  as  the  constitutionally  elected 
President  of  the  United  States,  —  as  citizens  of 
the  United  States  to  meet  the  man  who,  for  the 
time  being,  is  the  representative  of  the  majesty 
of  the  nation,  —  united  by  the  single  purpose  to 
perpetuate  the  Constitution,  the  Union,  and  the 
liberties  of  the  people.  As  such  I  accept  this 
reception  more  gratefully  than  I  could  do,  did  I 
believe  it  was  tendered  to  me  as  an  individual." 


234  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


ADDRESS  AT  INDEPENDENCE  HALL,  PHILADELPHIA. 

February  22,  1861. 

"  I  AM  filled  with  deep  emotion  at  finding  my- 
self standing  in  this  place,  where  were  collected 
together  the  wisdom,  the  patriotism,  the  devo- 
tion to  principle,  from  which  sprang  the  insti- 
tutions under  which  we  live.  You  have  kindly 
suggested  to  me  that  in  my  hands  is  the  task  of 
restoring  peace  to  our  distracted  country.  I  can 
say  in  return,  Sir,  that  all  the  political  sentiments  I 
entertain  have  been  drawn,  so  far  as  I  have  been 
able  to  draw  them,  from  the  sentiments  which 
originated  in  and  were  given  to  the  world  from 
this  hall.  I  have  never  had  a  feeling,  politically, 
that  did  not  spring  from  the  sentiments  embodied 
in  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  I  have 
often  pondered  over  the  dangers  which  were 
incurred  by  the  men  who  assembled  here,  and 
framed  and  adopted  that  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence. I  have  pondered  over  the  toils  that 
were  endured  by  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  the 
army  who  achieved  that  independence.  I  have 
often  inquired  of  myself  what  great  principle  or 
idea  it  was  that  kept  this  Confederacy  so  long 
together.  It  was  not  the  mere  matter  of  the 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  235 

separation  of  the  colonies  from  the  motherland, 
but  that  sentiment  in  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence which  gave  liberty,  not  alone  to  the 
people  of  this  country,  but  hope  to  all  the  world 
for  all  future  time.  It  was  that  which  gave 
promise  that  in  due  time  the  weight  would  be 
lifted  from  the  shoulders  of  all  men,  and  that  all 
should  have  an  equal  chance.  This  is  the  senti- 
ment embodied  in  the  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence. Now,  my  friends,  can  this  country  be 
saved  on  that  basis?  If  it  can,  I  will  consider 
myself  one  of  the  happiest  men  in  the  world  if  I 
can  help  to  save  it.  If  it  cannot  be  saved  upon 
that  principle,  it  will  be  truly  awful.  But  if  this 
country  cannot  be  saved  without  giving  up  that 
principle,  I  was  about  to  say  I  would  rather  be  as- 
sassinated on  this  spot  than  surrender  it.  Now, 
in  my  view  of  the  present  aspect  of  affairs,  there 
need  be  no  bloodshed  or  war.  There  is  no 
necessity  for  it.  I  am  not  in  favour  of  such  a 
course ;  and  I  may  say  in  advance  that  there  will 
be  no  bloodshed  unless  it  is  forced  upon  the  Gov- 
ernment, and  then  it  will  be  compelled  to  act  in 
self-defence.  The  government  will  not  use  force, 
unless  force  is  used  against  it.  .  .  .  " 


236  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

FROM  HIS  REPLY  TO  THE  GOVERNOR,  AND  HIS 
ADDRESS  TO  THE  LEGISLATURE  AT  HARRIS- 
BURGH,  PENNSYLVANIA. 

February  22,  1861. 

"...  I  thank  you  most  sincerely  for  this  re- 
ception, and  the  generous  words  in  which  support 
has  been  promised  me  upon  this  occasion.  I 
thank  your  great  Commonwealth  for  the  over- 
whelming support  it  recently  gave,  not  me  person- 
ally, but  the  cause  which  I  think  a  just  one,  in  the 
late  election. 

Allusion  has  been  made  to  the  fact  —  the  inter- 
esting fact,  perhaps  we  should  say  —  that  I  for  the 
first  time  appear  at  the  capital  of  the  great  Com- 
monwealth of  Pennsylvania  upon  the  birthday  of 
the  Father  of  his  Country.  In  connection  with 
that  beloved  anniversary  connected  with  the  his- 
tory of  this  country,  I  have  already  gone  through 
one  exceedingly  interesting  scene  this  morning 
in  the  ceremonies  at  Philadelphia.  Under  the 
kind  conduct  of  gentlemen  there,  I  was  for  the 
first  time  allowed  the  privilege  of  standing  in  old 
Independence  Hall  to  have  a  few  words  addressed 
to  me  there,  and  opening  up  to  me  an  oppor- 
tunity of  manifesting,  with  much  regret,  that  I 
had  not  more  time  to  express  something  of  my 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  237 

own  feelings  excited  by  the  occasion,  that  had 
been  really  the  feelings  of  my  whole  life. 

Besides  this,  our  friends  there  had  provided  a 
magnificent  flag  of  the  country.  They  had  ar- 
ranged it  so  that  I  was  given  the  honour  of 
raising  it  to  the  head  of  its  staff.  And  when  it 
went  up,  I  was  pleased  that  it  went  to  its  place 
by  the  strength  of  my  own  feeble  arm,  when,  ac- 
cording to  the  arrangement,  the  cord  was  pulled, 
and  it  floated  gloriously  to  the  wind  without  an 
accident,  in  the  light,  glowing  sunshine  of  the 
morning.  I  could  not  help  hoping  that  there  was 
in  the  entire  success  of  that  beautiful  ceremony 
at  least  something  of  an  omen  of  what  is  to 
come.  How  could  I  help  feeling  there  as  I  often 
have  felt?  In  the  whole  of  that  proceeding,  I 
was  a  very  humble  instrument.  I  had  not  pro- 
vided the  flag ;  I  had  not  made  the  arrangement 
for  elevating  it  to  its  place ;  I  had  applied  but 
a  very  small  portion  of  my  feeble  strength  in 
raising  it.  In  the  whole  transaction,  I  was  in 
the  hands  of  the  people  who  had  arranged  it ; 
and  if  I  can  have  the  same  generous  co-operation 
of  the  people  of  the  nation,  I  think  the  flag  of  our 
country  may  yet  be  kept  flaunting  gloriously. 

I  recur  for  a  moment  but  to  repeat  some  words 
uttered  at  the  hotel,  in  regard  to  what  has  been 


238  ABRAHAM  LfNCOLN. 

said  about  the  military  support  which  the  General 
Government  may  expect  from  the  Commonwealth 
of  Pennsylvania  in  a  proper  emergency.  To 
guard  against  any  possible  mistake  do  I  recur  to 
this.  It  is  not  with  any  pleasure  that  I  con- 
template the  possibility  that  a  necessity  may  arise 
in  this  country  for  the  use  of  the  military  arm. 
While  I  am  exceedingly  gratified  to  see  the  mani- 
festation upon  your  streets  of  your  military  force 
here,  and  exceedingly  gratified  at  your  promises 
here  to  use  that  force  upon  a  proper  emergency  — 
while  I  make  these  acknowledgments,  I  desire 
to  repeat,  in  order  to  preclude  any  possible  mis- 
construction, that  I  do  most  sincerely  hope  that 
we  shall  have  no  use  for  them  ;  that  it  will  never 
become  their  duty  to  shed  blood,  and  most 
especially  never  to  shed  fraternal  blood.  I 
promise  that,  so  far  as  I  may  have  wisdom  to 
direct,  if  so  painful  a  result  shall  in  any  wise 
be  brought  about,  it  shall  be  through  no  fault  of 
mine.  . " 


REPLY  TO  THE  MAYOR  OF  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

February  27,  1861. 

"  MR.  MAYOR  :  I  thank  you,  and  through  you 
the  municipal  authorities  of  this  city  who  accom- 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  239 

pany  you,  for  this  welcome.  And  as  it  is  the  first 
time  in  my  life,  since  the  present  phase  of  politics 
has  presented  itself  in  this  country,  that  I  have 
said  anything  publicly  within  a  region  of  country 
where  the  institution  of  slavery  exists,  I  will  take 
this  occasion  to  say  that  I  think  very  much  of  the 
ill-feeling  that  has  existed  and  still  exists  between 
the  people  in  the  section  from  which  I  came  and 
the  people  here,  is  dependent  upon  a  misunder- 
standing of  one  another.  I  therefore  avail  my- 
self of  this  opportunity  to  assure  you,  Mr.  Mayor, 
and  all  the  gentlemen  present,  that  I  have  not 
now,  and  never  have  had,  any  other  than  as 
kindly  feelings  towards  you  as  to  the  people  of 
my  own  section.  I  have  not  now  and  never  have 
had  any  disposition  to  treat  you  in  any  respect 
otherwise  than  as  my  own  neighbours.  I  have  not 
now  any  purpose  to  withhold  from  you  any  of  the 
benefits  of  the  Constitution  under  any  circum- 
stances, that  I  would  not  feel  myself  constrained 
to  withhold  from  my  own  neighbours ;  and  I  hope, 
in  a  word,  that  when  we  become  better  acquainted, 
—  and  I  say  it  with  great  confidence,  —  we  shall 
like  each  other  the  more.  .  .  " 


240  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


FROM  THE  FIRST  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS. 

March  4,  1861. 

"...  Apprehension  seems  to  exist  among  the 
people  of  the  Southern  States,  that  by  the  acces- 
sion of  a  Republican  Administration  their  property 
and  their  peace  and  personal  security  are  to  be 
endangered.  There  has  never  been  any  reason- 
able cause  for  such  apprehension.  Indeed,  the 
most  ample  evidence  to  the  contrary  has  all  the 
while  existed  and  been  open  to  their  inspection. 
It  is  found  in  nearly  all  the  published  speeches  of 
him  who  now  addresses  you.  I  do  but  quote 
from  one  of  those  speeches  when  I  declare  that 
'I  have  no  purpose,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  in- 
terfere with  the  institution  of  slavery  in  the  States 
where  it  exists.  I  believe  I  have  no  lawful  right 
to  do  so,  and  I  have  no  inclination  to  do  so.'  .  .  . 
I  only  press  upon  the  public  attention  the  most 
conclusive  evidence  of  which  the  case  is  suscepti- 
ble, that  the  property,  peace,  and  security  of  no 
section  are  to  be  in  any  wise  endangered  by  the 
now  incoming  Administration.  I  add,  too,  that 
all  the  protection  which,  consistently  with  the 
Constitution  and  the  laws,  can  be  given,  will 
cheerfully  be  given  to  all  the  States,  when  law- 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  241 

fully  demanded  for  whatever  cause,  as  cheerfully 
to  one  section  as  to  another. 

"...  I  take  the  official  oath  to-day  with  no 
mental  reservations,  and  with  no  purpose  to  con- 
strue the  Constitution  or  the  laws  by  any  hyper- 
critical rules.  And  while  I  do  not  choose  now 
to  specify  particular  acts  of  Congress  as  proper 
to  be  enforced,  I  do  suggest  that  it  will  be  much 
safer  for  all,  both  in  official  and  private  stations, 
to  conform  to  and  abide  by  all  those  acts  which 
stand  unrepealed,  than  to  violate  any  of  them, 
trusting  to  find  impunity  in  having  them  held  to 
be  unconstitutional. 

"  It  is  seventy-two  years  since  the  first  inau- 
guration of  a  President  under  our  National  Con- 
stitution. During  that  period  fifteen  different  and 
greatly  distinguished  citizens  have,  in  succession, 
administered  the  Executive  branch  of  the  govern- 
ment. They  have  conducted  it  through  many 
perils,  and  generally  with  great  success.  Yet, 
with  all  this  scope  of  precedent,  I  now  enter 
upon  the  same  great  task  for  the  brief  constitu- 
tional term  of  four  years,  under  great  and  peculiar 
difficulty.  A  disruption  of  the  Federal  Union, 
heretofore  only  menaced,  is  now  formidably 
attempted. 

"  I  hold  that,  in  contemplation  of  universal  law, 
16 


242  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

and  of  the  Constitution,  the  Union  of  these  States 
is  perpetual.  Perpetuity  is  implied,  if  not  ex- 
pressed, in  the  fundamental  law  of  all  National 
Governments.  It  is  safe  to  assert  that  no  gov- 
ernment proper  ever  had  a  provision  in  its 
organic  law  for  its  own  termination.  Continue 
to  execute  all  the  express  provisions  of  our  Na- 
tional Government,  and  the  Union  will  endure 
forever,  —  it  being  impossible  to  destroy  it,  except 
by  some  action  not  provided  for  in  the  instrument 
itself. 

"  Again,  if  the  United  States  be  not  a  govern- 
ment proper,  but  an  association  of  States  in  the 
nature  of  contract  merely,  can  it  as  a  contract  be 
peaceably  unmade  by  less  than  all  the  parties  who 
made  it?  One  party  to  a  contract  may  violate  it 
—  break  it,  so  to  speak  ;  but  does  it  not  require 
all  to  lawfully  rescind  it  ? 

"...  It  follows  then,  from  these  views,  that 
no  State,  upon  its  own  mere  motion,  can  lawfully 
get  out  of  the  Union  ;  that  resolves  and  ordinances 
to  that  effect  are  legally  void  ;  and  acts  of  violence 
within  any  State  or  States,  against  the  authority 
of  the  United  States,  are  insurrectionary  or  revo- 
lutionary according  to  circumstances. 

"  I  therefore  consider  that,  in  view  of  the  Con- 
stitution and  the  laws,  the  Union  is  unbroken; 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  243 

and  to  the  extent  of  my  ability,  I  shall  take  care, 
as  the  Constitution  itself  expressly  enjoins  upon 
me,  that  the  laws  of  the  Union  be  faithfully  exe- 
cuted in  all  the  States.  Doing  this,  I  deem  to  be 
only  a  simple  duty  on  my  part ;  and  I  shall  per- 
form it,  so  far  as  practicable,  unless  my  rightful 
masters,  the  American  people,  shall  withhold  the 
requisite  means,  or  in  some  authoritative  manner 
direct  the  contrary.  I  trust  this  will  not  be  re- 
garded as  a  menace,  but  only  as  the  declared 
purpose  of  the  Union,  that  it  will  constitutionally 
defend  and  maintain  itself. 

"  In  doing  this  there  need  be  no  bloodshed  or 
violence ;  and  there  shall  be  none,  unless  it  be 
forced  upon  the  national  authority.  The  power 
confided  to  me  will  be  used  to  hold,  occupy,  and 
possess  the  property  and  places  belonging  to  the 
government,  and  to  collect  the  duties  and  im- 
posts ;  but  beyond  what  may  be  but  necessary 
for  these  objects,  there  will  be  no  invasion,  no 
using  of  force  against  or  among  the  people 
anywhere.  .  .  . 

"  That  there  are  persons  in  one  section  or 
another  who  seek  to  destroy  the  Union  at  all 
events,  and  are  glad  of  any  pretext  to  do  it,  I 
will  neither  affirm  nor  deny  ;  but  if  there  be  such, 
I  need  address  no  word  to  them.  To  those, 


244  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

however,  who  really  love  the  Union,  may  I  not 
speak  ? 

"  Before  entering  upon  so  grave  a  matter  as  the 
destruction  of  our  national  fabric,  with  all  its 
benefits,  its  memories,  and  its  hopes,  would  it 
not  be  wise  to  ascertain  precisely  why  we  do  it? 
Will  you  hazard  so  desperate  a  step  while  there 
is  any  possibility  that  any  portion  of  the  ills  you 
fly  from,  have  no  real  existence  ?  Will  you,  while 
the  certain  ills  you  fly  to  are  greater  than  all  the 
real  ones  you  fly  from  —  will  you  risk  the  com- 
mission of  so  fearful  a  mistake  ? 

"  All  profess  to  be  content  in  the  Union,  if  all 
constitutional  rights  can  be  maintained.  Is  it 
true,  then,  that  any  right  plainly  written  in  the 
Constitution  has  been  denied?  I  think  not. 
Happily  the  human  mind  is  so  constituted  that 
no  party  can  reach  to  the  audacity  of  doing  this. 
Think,  if  you  can,  of  a  single  instance  in  which  a 
plainly  written  provision  of  the  Constitution  has 
ever  been  denied?  .  .  . 

"  I  do  not  forget  the  position  assumed  by  some, 
that  constitutional  questions  are  to  be  decided  by 
the  Supreme  Court ;  nor  do  I  deny  that  such 
decisions  must  be  binding,  in  any  case,  upon  the 
parties  to  the  suit,  as  to  the  object  of  that  suit, 
while  they  are  also  entitled  to  very  high  respect 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  245 

and  consideration  in  all  parallel  cases  by  all  other 
departments  of  the  government.  ...  At  the  same 
time,  ...  if  the  policy  of  the  government  upon 
vital  questions,  affecting  the  whole  people,  is  to 
be  irrevocably  fixed  by  decisions  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  .  .  .  the  people  will  have  ceased  to  be 
their  own  rulers,  having  to  that  extent  practically 
resigned  their  government  into  the  hands  of  that 
eminent  tribunal.  .  .  . 

"  Nor  is  there  in  this  view  any  assault  upon  the 
Court  or  the  judges.  .  .  .  One  section  of  our 
country  believes  slavery  is  right  and  ought  to  be 
extended,  while  the  other  believes  it  is  wrong  and 
ought  not  to  be  extended.  This  is  the  only  sub- 
stantial dispute.  The  fugitive-slave  clause  of  the 
Constitution,  and  the  law  for  the  suppression  of 
the  foreign  slave  trade  are  each  as  well  enforced, 
perhaps,  as  any  law  ever  can  be  in  a  community 
where  the  moral  sense  of  the  people  imperfectly 
supports  the  law  itself.  The  great  body  of  the 
people  abide  by  the  dry,  legal  obligation  in  both 
cases,  and  a  few  break  over  in  each.  This,  I 
think,  cannot  be  perfectly  cured  ;  and  it  would 
be  worse,  in  both  cases,  after  the  separation  of 
the  sections  than  before.  The  foreign  slave  trade, 
now  imperfectly  suppressed,  would  be  ultimately 
revived,  without  restriction,  in  one  section,  while 


246  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

fugitive  slaves,  now  only  partially  surrendered, 
would  not  be  surrendered  at  all  by  the  other. 

"  Physically  speaking,  we  cannot  separate.  We 
cannot  remove  our  respective  sections  from  each 
other  nor  build  an  impassable  wall  between  them. 
A  husband  and  wife  may  be  divorced,  and  go  out 
of  the  presence  and  beyond  the  reach  of  each 
other;  but  the  different  parts  of  our  country  can- 
not do  this.  They  cannot  but  remain  face  to 
face  ;  and  intercourse,  either  amicable  or  hostile, 
must  continue  between  them.  Is  it  possible,  then, 
to  make  that  intercourse  more  advantageous  or 
more  satisfactory  after  separation  than  before? 
Can  aliens  make  treaties  easier  than  friends  can 
make  laws?  Can  treaties  be  more  faithfully  en- 
forced between  aliens  than  laws  among  friends? 
Suppose  you  go  to  war,  you  cannot  fight  always ; 
and  when,  after  much  loss  on  both  sides  and  no 
gain  on  either,  you  cease  fighting,  the  identical 
old  questions  as  to  terms  of  intercourse  are  again 
upon  you.  .  .  . 

"  The  Chief  Magistrate  derives  all  his  authority 
from  the  people,  and  they  have  conferred  none 
upon  him  to  fix  terms  for  the  separation  of  the 
States.  The  people  themselves  can  do  this  also, 
if  they  choose ;  but  the  Executive,  as  such,  has 
nothing  to  do  with  it.  His  duty  is  to  administer 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  247 

the  present  government  as  it  came  to  his  hands, 
and  to  transmit  it,  unimpaired  by  him,  to  his 
successor. 

"  Why  should  there  not  be  a  patient  confidence 
in  the  ultimate  justice  of  the  people?  Is  there 
any  better  or  equal  hope  in  the  world  ?  In  our 
present  differences,  is  either  party  without  faith 
of  being  in  the  right?  If  the  Almighty  Ruler  of 
Nations  with  His  eternal  truth  and  justice  be  on 
your  side  of  the  North,  or  on  yours  of  the  South, 
that  truth  and  that  justice  will  surely  prevail,  by 
the  judgment  of  this  great  tribunal  of  the  American 
people. 

" .  .  .  My  countrymen,  one  and  all,  think  calmly 
and  well  upon  this  whole  subject.  Nothing  valu- 
able can  be  lost  by  taking  time.  If  there  be  an 
object  to  hurry  any  of  you  in  hot  haste  to  a  step 
which  you  would  never  take  deliberately,  that 
object  will  be  frustrated  by  taking  time ;  but  no 
good  object  can  be  frustrated  by  it.  Such  of  you 
as  are  now  dissatisfied,  still  have  the  old  Consti- 
tution, unimpaired,  and  on  the  sensitive  point 
the  laws  of  your  own  framing  under  it ;  while 
the  new  Administration  will  have  no  immediate 
power,  if  it  would,  to  change  either.  If  it  were 
admitted  that  you  who  are  dissatisfied  hold  the 
right  side  in  the  dispute,  there  still  is  no  single 


248  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

good  reason  for  precipitate  action.  Intelligence, 
patriotism,  Christianity,  and  a  firm  reliance  on 
Him  who  has  never  yet  forsaken  this  favoured 
land  are  still  competent  to  adjust  in  the  best 
way  all  our  present  difficulty. 

"  In  your  hands,  my  dissatisfied  fellow-country- 
men, and  not  in  mine,  is  the  momentous  issue  of 
civil  war.  The  government  will  not  assail  you. 
You  can  have  no  conflict  without  being  your- 
selves the  aggressors.  You  have  no  oath  regis- 
tered in  Heaven  to  destroy  the  government, 
while  I  shall  have  the  most  solemn  one  to  '  pre- 
serve, protect,  and  defend  it.' 

"  I  am  loath  to  close.  We  are  not  enemies,  but 
friends.  We  must  not  be  enemies.  Though 
passion  may  have  strained,  it  must  not  break  our 
bonds  of  affection. 

"  The  mystic  chords  of  memory,  stretching  from 
every  battlefield  and  patriot  grave  to  every  living 
heart  and  hearthstone  all  over  this  broad  land, 
will  yet  swell  the  chorus  of  the  Union  when  again 
touched,  as  surely  they  will  be,  by  the  better 
angels  of  our  nature." 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  249 


FROM  HIS  FIRST  MESSAGE  TO  CONGRESS,  AT  THE 
SPECIAL  SESSION,  JULY  4,  1861. 

July  4,  1861. 

"...  It  is  thus  seen  that  the  assault  upon  and 
reduction  of  Fort  Sumter  was  in  no  sense  a  matter 
of  self-defence  on  the  part  of  the  assailants.  They 
well  knew  that  the  garrison  in  the  fort  could  by 
no  possibility  commit  aggression  upon  them. 
They  knew — they  were  expressly  notified  —  that 
the  giving  of  bread  to  the  few  brave  and  hungry 
men  of  the  garrison  was  all  which  would  on  that 
occasion  be  attempted,  unless  themselves,  by  re- 
sisting so  much,  should  provoke  more.  They 
knew  that  this  government  desired  to  keep  the 
garrison  in  the  fort,  not  to  assail  them,  but  merely 
to  maintain  visible  possession,  and  thus  to  pre- 
serve the  Union  from  actual  and  immediate  disso- 
lution, —  trusting,  as  hereinbefore  stated,  to  time, 
discussion,  and  the  ballot-box,  for  final  adjust- 
ment ;  and  they  assailed  and  reduced  the  fort 
for  precisely  the  reverse  object,  —  to  drive  out 
the  visible  authority  of  the  Federal  Union,  and 
thus  force  it  to  immediate  dissolution. 

"...  By  the  affair  at  Fort  Sumter,  .  .  .  the 
assailants  of  the  government  began  the  conflict 


250  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

of  arms,  without  a  gun  in  sight,  or  in  expectancy 
to  return  their  fire,  save  only  the  few  in  the  fort 
sent  to  that  harbour  years  before  for  their  own 
protection,  and  still  ready  to  give  that  protection 
in  whatever  was  lawful.  In  this  act,  discarding 
all  else,  they  have  forced  upon  the  country  the 
distinct  issue,  '  immediate  dissolution  or  blood.' 

"  And  this  issue  embraces  more  than  the  fate 
of  these  United  States.  It  presents  to  the  whole 
family  of  man  the  question  whether  a  constitu- 
tional republic  or  democracy  —  a  government  ot 
the  people  by  the  same  people  —  can  or  cannot 
maintain  its  territorial  integrity  against  its  own 
domestic  foes.  It  presents  the  question  whether 
discontented  individuals,  too  few  in  numbers  to 
control  administration  according  to  organic  law 
in  any  case,  can  always,  upon  the  pretences  made 
in  this  case  or  any  other  pretences,  or  arbitrarily 
without  any  pretence,  break  up  their  government, 
and  thus  practically  put  an  end  to  free  govern- 
ment upon  the  earth.  It  forces  us  to  ask :  '  Is 
there,  in  all  republics,  this  inherent  and  fatal 
weakness  ?  '  '  Must  a  government,  of  necessity, 
be  too  strong  for  the  liberties  of  its  own  people, 
or  too  weak  to  maintain  its  own  existence? ' 

"  So  viewing  the  issue,  no  choice  was  left  but  to 
call  out  the  war  power  of  the  government,  and 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  251 

so  to  resist  force  employed  for  its  destruction  by 
force  for  its  preservation. 

"  The  call  was  made,  and  the  response  of  the 
country  was  most  gratifying,  surpassing  in  una- 
nimity and  spirit  the  most  sanguine  expectation. 

"...  The  people  of  Virginia  have  thus  allowed 
this  giant  insurrection  to  make  its  nest  within  her 
borders,  —  and  this  government  has  no  choice  left 
but  to  deal  with  it  where  it  finds  it.  And  it  has 
the  less  regret,  as  the  loyal  citizens  have  in  due 
form  claimed  its  protection.  Those  loyal  citi- 
zens this  government  is  bound  to  recognise  and 
protect,  as  being  Virginia. 

"  In  the  border  States,  so  called,  —  in  fact, 
the  Middle  States,  —  there  are  those  who  favour 
a  policy  which  they  call  '  armed  neutrality ; '  that 
is,  an  arming  of  those  States  to  prevent  the  Union 
forces  passing  one  way,  or  the  disunion  the  other, 
over  their  soil.  This  would  be  disunion  com- 
pleted. Figuratively  speaking,  it  would  be  ^the 
building  of  an  impassable  wall  along  the  line  of 
separation,  —  and  yet  not  quite  an  impassable  one, 
for  under  the  guise  of  neutrality,  it  would  tie  the 
hands  of  Union  men,  and  freely  pass  supplies 
from  among  them  to  the  insurrectionists,  which 
it  could  not  do  as  an  open  enemy.  At  a  stroke, 
it  would  take  all  the  trouble  off  the  hands  of 


252  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

secession,  except  only  what  proceeds  from  the 
external  blockade.  It  would  do  for  the  disunion- 
ists  that  which  of  all  things  they  most  desire,  — 
feed  them  well  and  give  them  disunion  without  a 
struggle  of  their  own.  It  recognises  no  fidelity 
to  the  Constitution,  no  obligation  to  maintain  the 
Union ;  and  while  very  many  who  have  favoured 
it  are  doubtless  loyal  citizens,  it  is,  nevertheless, 
very  injurious  in  effect. 

"...  The  forbearance  of  this  government 
had  been  so  extraordinary  and  so  long  continued, 
as  to  lead  some  foreign  nations  to  shape  their 
action  as  if  they  supposed  the  early  destruction 
of  our  National  Union  was  probable.  While  this, 
on  discovery,  gave  the  Executive  some  concern, 
he  is  now  happy  to  say  that  the  sovereignty 
and  rights  of  the  United  States  are  now  every- 
where practically  respected  by  foreign  powers, 
and  a  general  sympathy  with  the  country  is  mani- 
fested throughout  the  world. 

"...  It  might  seem  at  first  thought  to  be  of 
little  difference  whether  the  present  movement 
at  the  South  be  called  secession  or  rebellion.  The 
movers,  however,  well  understand  the  difference. 
At  the  beginning  they  knew  they  could  never 
raise  their  treason  to  any  respectable  magnitude 
by  any  name  which  implies  violation  of  law.  They 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  253 

knew  their  people  possessed  as  much  of  moral 
sense,  as  much  of  devotion  to  law  and  order,  and 
as  much  pride  in  and  reverence  for  the  history 
and  government  of  their  common  country  as  any 
other  civilised  and  patriotic  people.  They  knew 
they  could  make  no  advancement  directly  in  the 
teeth  of  these  strong  and  noble  sentiments.  Ac- 
cordingly, they  commenced  by  an  insidious  de- 
bauching of  the  public  mind.  They  invented 
an  ingenious  sophism  which,  if  conceded,  was 
followed  by  perfectly  logical  steps,  through  all 
the  incidents,  to  the  complete  destruction  of  the 
Union.  The  sophism  itself  is  that  any  State  of 
the  Union  may  consistently  with  the  national 
Constitution,  and  therefore  lawfully  and  peace- 
fully, withdraw  from  the  Union  without  the  con- 
sent of  the  Union  or  of  any  other  State.  The 
little  disguise  that  the  supposed  right  is  to  be 
exercised  only  for  just  cause,  themselves  to  be  the 
sole  judges  of  its  justice,  is  too  thin  to  merit  any 
notice. 

"  With  rebellion  thus  sugar-coated  they  have 
been  drugging  the  public  mind  of  their  section 
for  more  than  thirty  years,  and  until  at  length 
they  have  brought  many  good  men  to  a  willing- 
ness to  take  up  arms  against  the  government  the 
day  after  some  assemblage  of  men  have  enacted 


254  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

the  farcical  pretence  of  taking  their  State  out  of 
the  Union,  who  could  have  been  brought  to  no 
such  thing  the  day  before. 

"  This  sophism  derives  much,  perhaps  the  whole 
of  its  currency  from  the  assumption  that  there  is 
some  omnipotent  and  sacred  supremacy  pertain- 
ing to  a  State  —  to  each  State  of  our  Federal 
Union.  Our  States  have  neither  more  nor  less 
power  than  that  reserved  to  them  in  the  Union 
by  the  Constitution,  no  one  of  them  ever  hav- 
ing been  a  State  out  of  the  Union.  The  original 
ones  passed  into  the  Union  even  before  they  cast 
off  their  British  colonial  dependence,  and  the  new 
ones  each  came  into  the  Union  directly  from  a 
condition  of  dependence,  excepting  Texas.  And 
even  Texas  in  its  temporary  independence  was 
never  designated  a  State.  The  new  ones  only 
took  the  designation  of  States  on  coming  into  the 
Union,  while  that  name  was  first  adopted  for  the 
old  ones  in  and  by  the  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence. Therein  the  '  United  Colonies  '  were 
declared  to  be  '  free  and  independent  States ; ' 
but  even  then  the  object  plainly  was,  not  to  de- 
clare their  independence  of  one  another  or  of  the 
Union,  but  directly  the  contrary,  as  their  mutual 
pledges  and  their  mutual  action  before,  at  the 
time,  and  afterward  abundantly  show.  The  ex- 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  255 

press  plighting  of  faith  by  each  and  all  of  the 
original  thirteen  in  the  Articles  of  Confederation 
two  years  later,  that  the  Union  shall  be  perpetual, 
is  most  conclusive.  Having  never  been  States, 
either  in  substance  or  name,  outside  of  the  Union, 
whence  this  magical  omnipotence  of '  State- Rights,' 
asserting  a  claim  of  power  to  lawfully  destroy  the 
Union  itself?  Much  is  said  about  the '  sovereignty ' 
of  the  States ;  but  the  word  is  not  in  the  National 
Constitution,  nor,  as  is  believed,  in  any  of  the 
State  constitutions.  What  is  sovereignty  in  the 
political  sense  of  the  term?  Would  it  be  far 
wrong  to  define  it  '  a  political  community  without 
a  political  superior  ?  '  Tested  by  this,  no  one  of 
our  States,  except  Texas,  ever  was  a  sovereignty. 
And  even  Texas  gave  up  the  character  on  coming 
into  the  Union,  by  which  act  she  acknowledged 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  the 
laws  and  treaties  of  the  United  States  made  in 
pursuance  of  the  Constitution,  to  be  for  her  the 
supreme  law  of  the  land.  The  States  have  their 
status  in  the  Union,  and  they  have  no  other  legal 
status.  If  they  break  from  this,  they  can  only  do 
so  against  law  and  by  revolution.  The  Union, 
and  not  themselves  separately,  procured  their 
independence  and  their  liberty.  By  conquest 
or  purchase,  the  Union  gave  each  of  them  what- 


256  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

ever  of  independence  or  liberty  it  has.  The 
Union  is  older  than  any  of  the  States,  and,  in 
fact,  it  created  them  as  States.  Originally  some 
dependent  colonies  made  the  Union,  and  in  turn 
the  Union  threw  off  their  old  dependence  for 
them,  and  made  them  States,  such  as  they  are. 
Not  one  of  them  ever  had  a  State  constitution 
independent  of  the  Union.  Of  course  it  is  not 
forgotten  that  all  the  new  States  framed  their 
constitutions  before  they  entered  the  Union,  — 
nevertheless,  dependent  upon  and  preparatory 
to  coming  into  the  Union. 

"...  It  may  be  affirmed  without  extravagance 
that  the  free  institutions  we  enjoy  have  developed 
the  powers  and  improved  the  condition  of  our 
whole  people,  beyond  any  example  in  the  world. 
Of  this  we  now  have  a  striking  and  an  impres- 
sive illustration.  So  large  an  army  as  the  govern- 
ment has  now  on  foot  was  never  before  known, 
without  a  soldier  in  it  but  who  has  taken  his  place 
there  of  his  own  free  choice.  But  more  than  this, 
there  are  many  single  regiments,  whose  members, 
one  and  another,  possess  full  practical  knowledge 
of  all  the  arts,  sciences,  and  professions,  and  what- 
ever else,  whether  useful  or  elegant,  is  known  in 
the  world ;  and  there  is  scarcely  one  from  which 
there  could  not  be  selected  a  President,  a  cabinet, 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


a  congress,  and  perhaps  a  court,  abundantly  com- 
petent to  administer  the  government  itself.  Nor 
do  I  say  that  this  is  not  true  also  in  the  army  of 
our  late  friends,  now  adversaries  in  this  contest  ; 
but  if  it  is,  so  much  the  better  reason  why  the 
government  which  has  conferred  such  benefits 
on  both  them  and  us  should  not  be  broken  up. 
Whoever  in  any  section  proposes  to  abandon  such 
a  government,  would  do  well  to  consider  in  defer- 
ence to  what  principle  it  is  that  he  does  it  ;  what 
better  he  is  likely  to  get  in  its  stead  ;  whether  the 
substitute  will  give,  or  be  intended  to  give,  so 
much  of  good  to  the  people?  There  are  some 
foreshadowings  on  this  subject.  Our  adversaries 
have  adopted  some  declarations  of  independence 
in  which,  unlike  the  good  old  one  penned  by 
Jefferson,  they  omit  the  words,  'all  men  are 
created  equal.'  Why?  They  have  adopted  a 
temporary  national  constitution,  in  the  preamble 
of  which,  unlike  our  good  old  one  signed  by 
Washington,  they  omit  '  We,  the  people,'  and 
substitute  '  We,  the  deputies  of  the  sovereign  and 
independent  States.'  Why?  Why  this  deliber- 
ate pressing  out  of  view  the  rights  of  men  and 
the  authority  of  the  people  ? 

"This  is  essentially  a  people's  contest.     On 
the  side  of  the  Union  it  is  a  struggle  for  main- 
17 


258  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

taining  in  the  world  that  form  and  substance  of 
government  whose  leading  object  is  to  elevate 
the  condition  of  men,  —  to  lift  artificial  weights 
from  all  shoulders,  to  clear  the  paths  of  laudable 
pursuit  for  all,  to  afford  all  an  unfettered  start 
and  a  fair  chance  in  the  race  of  life.  Yielding  to 
partial  and  temporary  departures  from  necessity, 
this  is  the  leading  object  of  the  government  for 
the  existence  of  which  we  contend. 

" .  .  .  Our  popular  government  has  often  been 
called  an  experiment.  Two  points  in  it  our  people 
have  already  settled, — the  successful  establishing 
and  the  successful  administering  of  it.  One  still 
remains,  —  its  successful  maintainance  against  a 
formidable  internal  attempt  to  overthrow  it.  It 
is  now  for  them  to  demonstrate  to  the  world  that 
those  who  can  fairly  carry  an  election  can  also 
suppress  a  rebellion ;  that  ballots  are  the  rightful 
and  peaceful  successors  of  bullets ;  and  that  when 
ballots  have  fairly  and  constitutionally  decided, 
there  can  be  no  successful  appeal  back  to  bullets ; 
that  there  can  be  no  successful  appeal,  except  to 
ballots  themselves,  at  succeeding  elections.  Such 
will  be  a  great  lesson  of  peace ;  teaching  men 
that  what  they  cannot  take  by  an  election,  neither 
can  they  take  by  a  war ;  teaching  all  the  folly  of 
being  the  beginners  of  a  war." 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  259 


FROM  HIS  MESSAGE  TO  CONGRESS  AT  rrs  REGULAR 
SESSION. 

December  3,  1861. 

"...  You  will  not  be  surprised  to  learn  that 
in  the  peculiar  exigencies  of  the  times,  our  inter- 
course with  foreign  nations  has  been  attended 
with  profound  solicitude,  chiefly  turning  upon  our 
own  domestic  affairs. 

"A  disloyal  portion  of  the  American  people 
have,  during  the  whole  year,  been  engaged  in  an 
attempt  to  divide  and  destroy  the  Union.  A 
nation  which  endures  factious  domestic  division 
is  exposed  to  disrespect  abroad  ;  and  one  party, 
if  not  both,  is  sure,  sooner  or  later,  to  invoke 
foreign  intervention.  Nations  thus  tempted  to 
interfere  are  not  always  able  to  resist  the 
counsels  of  seeming  expediency  and  ungenerous 
ambition,  although  measures  adopted  under  such 
influences  seldom  fail  to  be  injurious  and  unfor- 
tunate to  those  adopting  them. 

"  The  disloyal  citizens  of  the  United  States 
who  have  offered  the  ruin  of  our  country  in  return 
for  the  aid  and  comfort  which  they  have  invoked 
abroad,  have  received  less  patronage  and  encour- 
agement than  they  probably  expected.  If  it  were 


260  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

just  to  suppose,  as  the  insurgents  have  seemed  to 
assume,  that  foreign  nations  in  this  case,  discard- 
ing all  moral,  social,  and  treaty  obligations,  would 
act  solely  and  selfishly  for  the  most  speedy  resto- 
ration of  commerce,  including  especially  the  ac- 
quisition of  cotton,  those  nations  appear  as  yet 
not  to  have  seen  their  way  to  their  object  more 
directly  or  clearly  through  the  destruction  than 
through  the  preservation  of  the  Union.  .  .  . 

"  The  principal  lever  relied  on  by  the  insurgents 
for  exciting  foreign  nations  to  hostility  against  us, 
as  already  intimated,  is  the  embarrassment  of  com- 
merce. Those  nations,  however,  not  improbably 
saw  from  the  first  that  it  was  the  Union  which 
made  as  well  our  foreign  as  our  domestic  com- 
merce. They  can  scarcely  have  failed  to  per- 
ceive that  the  effort  for  disunion  produces  the 
existing  difficulty;  and  that  one  strong  nation 
promises  a  more  durable  peace  and  a  more  ex- 
tensive, valuable,  and  reliable  commerce  than  can 
the  same  nation  broken  into  hostile  fragments. 

"...  The  operations  of  the  treasury  during 
the  period  which  has  elapsed  since  your  adjourn- 
ment have  been  conducted  with  signal  success. 
The  patriotism  of  the  people  has  placed  at  the 
disposal  of  the  government  the  large  means  de- 
manded by  the  public  exigencies.  Much  of  the 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  26 1 

national  loan  has  been  taken  by  citizens  of  the 
industrial  classes,  whose  confidence  in  their 
country's  faith,  and  zeal  for  their  country's  deliv- 
erance from  present  peril  have  induced  them  to 
contribute  to  the  support  of  the  government  the 
whole  of  their  limited  acquisitions.  This  fact 
imposes  peculiar  obligations  to  economy  in  dis- 
bursement and  energy  in  action. 

" .  .  .  The  war  continues.  In  considering  the 
policy  to  be  adopted  for  suppressing  the  insur- 
rection, I  have  been  anxious  and  careful  that  the 
inevitable  conflict  for  this  purpose  should  not 
degenerate  into  a  violent  and  remorseless  revo- 
lutionary struggle. 

"...  The  last  ray  of  hope  for  preserving  the 
Union  peaceably,  expired  at  the  assault  on  Fort 
Sumter.  .  .  .  What  was  painfully  uncertain  then 
is  much  better  defined  and  more  distinct  now ; 
and  the  progress  of  events  is  plainly  in  the  right 
direction. 

"...  It  continues  to  develop  that  the  insur- 
rection is  largely,  if  not  exclusively,  a  war  upon 
the  first  principle  of  popular  government,  —  the 
rights  of  the  people.  Conclusive  evidence  of 
this  is  found  in  the  most  grave  and  maturely 
considered  public  documents,  as  well  as  in  the 
general  tone  of  the  insurgents.  In  those  docu- 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


raents  we  find  the  abridgment  of  the  existing 
right  of  suffrage,  and  the  denial  to  the  people  of 
all  right  to  participate  in  the  selection  of  public 
officers,  except  the  legislative,  boldly  advocated, 
with  laboured  arguments  to  prove  that  large  con- 
trol of  the  people  in  government  is  the  source  of 
all  political  evil.  Monarchy  itself  is  sometimes 
hinted  at,  as  a  possible  refuge  from  the  power  of 
the  people. 

"  In  my  present  position,  I  could  scarcely  be 
justified  were  I  to  omit  raising  a  warning  voice 
against  this  approach  of  returning  despotism. 

"  It  is  not  needed  nor  fitting  here  that  a  gen- 
eral argument  should  be  made  in  favour  of  popular 
institutions ;  but  there  is  one  point,  with  its  con- 
nections, not  so  hackneyed  as  most  others,  to 
which  I  ask  a  brief  attention.  It  is  the  effort  to 
place  capital  on  an  equal  footing  with,  if  not 
above,  labour,  in  the  structure  of  government. 
It  is  assumed  that  labour  is  available  only  in  con- 
nection with  capital ;  that  nobody  labours,  unless 
somebody  else,  owning  capital,  somehow,  by  the 
use  of  it,  induces  him  to  labour.  This  assumed, 
it  is  next  considered  whether  it  is  best  that  capital 
shall  hire  labourers,  and  thus  induce  them  to  work 
by  their  own  consent,  or  buy  them  and  drive  them 
to  it  without  their  consent.  Having  proceeded 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  263 

thus  far,  it  is  naturally  concluded  that  all  labourers 
are  either  hired  labourers,  or  what  we  call  slaves. 
And  further,  it  is  assumed  that  whoever  is  once  a 
hired  labourer  is  fixed  in  that  condition  for  life. 

"  Now,  there  is  no  such  relation  between  capital 
and  labour  as  assumed,  nor  is  there  any  such  thing 
as  a  free  man  being  fixed  for  life  in  the  condition 
of  a  hired  labourer.  Both  these  assumptions  are 
false,  and  all  inferences  from  them  are  groundless. 

"  Labour  is  prior  to  and  independent  of  capital. 
Capital  is  only  the  fruit  of  labour,  and  could  never 
have  existed  if  labour  had  not  first  existed.  Labour 
is  the  superior  of  capital,  and  deserves  much  the 
higher  consideration.  Capital  has  its  rights,  which 
are  as  worthy  of  protection  as  any  other  rights. 
Nor  is  it  denied  that  there  is,  and  probably  al- 
ways will  be,  a  relation  between  labour  and  capi- 
tal, producing  mutual  benefits.  The  error  is  in 
assuming  that  the  whole  labour  of  the  community 
exists  within  that  relation.  A  few  men  own  cap- 
ital, and  that  few  avoid  labour  themselves,  and 
with  their  capital  hire  or  buy  another  few  to  labour 
for  them.  A  large  majority  belong  to  neither 
class,  —  neither  work  for  others,  nor  have  others 
working  for  them.  In  most  of  the  Southern 
States,  a  majority  of  the  whole  people,  of  all 
colours,  are  neither  slaves  nor  masters;  while 


264  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

in  the  Northern,  a  majority  are  neither  hirers  nor 
hired.  Men  with  their  families  —  wives,  sons,  and 
daughters  —  work  for  themselves,  on  their  farms, 
in  their  houses,  and  in  their  shops,  taking  the 
whole  product  to  themselves,  and  asking  no 
favours  of  capital  on  the  one  hand,  nor  of  hired 
labourers  or  slaves  on  the  other.  It  is  not  forgot- 
ten that  a  considerable  number  of  persons  mingle 
their  own  labour  with  capital,  —  that  is,  they  la- 
bour with  their  own  hands,  and  also  buy  or  hire 
others  to  labour  for  them  ;  but  this  is  only  a  mixed 
and  not  a  distinct  class.  No  principle  stated  is 
disturbed  by  the  existence  of  this  mixed  class. 

"  Again,  as  has  already  been  said,  there  is 
not  of  necessity  any  such  thing  as  the  free,  hired 
labourer  being  fixed  to  that  condition  for  life. 
Many  independent  men,  everywhere  in  these 
States,  a  few  years  back  in  their  lives  were  hired 
labourers.  The  prudent,  penniless  beginner  in 
the  world  labours  for  wages  awhile,  saves  a  surplus 
with  which  to  buy  tools  or  land  for  himself,  then 
labours  on  his  own  account  another  while,  and  at 
length  hires  another  new  beginner  to  help  him. 
This  is  the  just  and  generous  and  prosperous  sys- 
tem which  opens  the  way  to  all,  gives  hope  to  all, 
and  consequent  energy  and  progress  and  improve- 
ment of  condition  to  all.  No  men  living  are 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  26$ 

more  worthy  to  be  trusted  than  those  who  toil 
up  from  poverty,  none  less  inclined  to  take  or 
touch  aught  which  they  have  not  honestly  earned. 
Let  them  beware  of  surrendering  a  political  power 
which  they  already  possess,  and  which,  if  sur- 
rendered, will  surely  be  used  to  close  the  door  of 
advancement  against  such  as  they,  and  to  fix  new 
disabilities  and  burdens  upon  them,  till  all  of 
liberty  shall  be  lost." 


His  REPLY  TO  THE  LUTHERAN  MINISTERS. 

May,  1862. 

I  WELCOME  here  the  representatives  of  the 
Evangelical  Lutherans  of  the  United  States.  I 
accept  with  gratitude  their  assurances  of  the  sym- 
pathy and  support  of  that  enlightened,  influential, 
and  loyal  class  of  my  fellow-citizens,  in  an  impor- 
tant crisis  which  involves,  in  my  judgment,  not 
only  the  civil  and  religious  liberties  of  mankind  in 
many  countries  and  through  many  ages.  You 
well  know,  gentlemen,  and  the  world  knows,  how 
reluctantly  I  accepted  this  issue  of  battle,  forced 
upon  me,  on  my  advent  to  this  place,  by  the  in- 
ternal enemies  of  our  country.  You  all  know  — 
the  world  knows  —  the  forces  and  the  resources 
the  public  agents  have  brought  into  employment 


266  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

to  sustain  a  government  against  which  there  has 
been  brought  not  one  complaint  of  real  injury  com- 
mitted against  society  at  home  or  abroad.  You 
all  may  recollect  that  in  taking  up  the  sword  thus 
forced  into  our  hands,  this  government  appealed 
to  the  prayers  of  the  pious  and  the  good,  and  de- 
clared that  it  placed  its  whole  dependence  upon 
the  favour  of  God.  I  now  humbly  and  reverently, 
in  your  presence,  reiterate  the  acknowledgment 
of  that  dependence,  not  doubting  that,  if  it  shall 
please  the  Divine  Being  who  determines  the  des- 
tinies of  nations,  this  shall  remain  a  united  people  ; 
and  that  they  will,  humbly  seeking  the  Divine 
guidance,  make  their  prolonged  national  existence 
a  source  of  new  benefits  to  themselves  and  their 
successors,  and  to  all  classes  and  conditions  of 
mankind. 


FROM  A  LETTER  TO  GENERAL  MCCLELLAN. 

May  9,  1 862. 

"...  I  have  just  assisted  the  Secretary  of  War 
in  framing  part  of  a  despatch  to  you,  relating  to 
army  corps,  which  despatch  of  course  will  have 
reached  you  long  before  this  will. 

"  I  wish  to  say  a  few  words  to  you  privately  on 
this  subject.  I  ordered  the  army  corps  organi- 
sation, not  only  on  the  unanimous  opinion  of  the 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  267 

twelve  generals  whom  you  had  selected  and  as- 
signed as  generals  of  division,  but  also  on  the 
unanimous  opinion  of  every  military  man  I  could 
get  an  opinion  from  (and  every  modern  military 
book),  yourself  only  excepted.  Of  course  I  did 
not  on  my  own  judgment  pretend  to  understand 
the  subject.  I  now  think  it  indispensable  for  you 
to  know  how  your  struggle  against  it  is  received 
in  quarters  which  we  cannot  entirely  disregard. 
It  is  looked  upon  as  merely  an  effort  to  pamper 
one  or  two  pets  and  to  persecute  and  degrade 
their  supposed  rivals.  I  have  had  no  word  from 
Sumner,  Heintzelman,  or  Keyes.  The  command- 
ers of  these  corps  are  of  course  the  three  highest 
officers  with  you,  but  I  am  constantly  told  that 
you  have  no  consultation  or  communication  with 
them,  —  that  you  consult  and  communicate  with 
nobody  but  General  Fitz  John  Porter,  and  per- 
haps General  Franklin.  I  do  not  say  these  com- 
plaints are  true  or  just,  but  at  all  events  it  is 
proper  you  should  know  of  their  existence.  Do 
the  commanders  of  corps  disobey  your  orders 
in  anything? 

"...  Are  you  strong  enough  —  are  you  strong 
enough,  even  with  my  help  —  to  set  your  foot  upon 
the  necks  of  Sumner,  Heintzelman,  and  Keyes, 
all  at  once  ?  This  is  a  practical  and  a  very  serious 
question  for  you." 


268  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


FROM  HIS  PROCLAMATION  REVOKING  GENERAL 
HUNTER'S  ORDER  SETTING  THE  SLAVES  FREE; 
AND  OFFERING  COMPENSATED  EMANCIPATION  TO 
SLAVE  OWNERS. 

May  19,  1862. 

"  The  resolution  .  .  .  was  adopted  by  large 
majorities  in  both  branches  of  Congress,  and  now 
stands  an  authentic,  definite,  and  solemn  proposal 
of  the  nation  to  the  States  and  people  most  im- 
mediately interested  in  the  subject-matter.  To 
the  people  of  those  States  I  now  earnestly  appeal. 
I  do  not  argue  —  I  beseech  you  to  make  argu- 
ments for  yourselves.  You  cannot,  if  you  would, 
be  blind  to  the  signs  of  the  times.  I  beg  of  you 
a  calm  and  enlarged  consideration  of  them,  rang- 
ing, if  it  may  be,  far  above  personal  and  partisan 
politics.  The  proposal  makes  common  cause  for 
a  common  object,  casting  no  reproaches  upon  any. 
It  acts  not  the  Pharisee.  The  change  it  contem- 
plates would  come  gently  as  the  dews  of  heaven, 
not  rending  or  wrecking  anything.  Will  you  not 
embrace  it?  So  much  good  has  not  been  done 
by  one  effort  in  all  past  time  as  in  the  provi- 
dence of  God  it  is  now  your  high  privilege  to  do. 
May  the  vast  future  not  have  to  lament  that  you 
have  neglected  it," 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  269 

APPEAL    TO    THE    BORDER    STATES     TO    ACCEPT 
COMPENSATED  EMANCIPATION. 

July  12,  1862. 

AFTER  the  adjournment  of  Congress,  now  near, 
I  shall  have  no  opportunity  of  seeing  you  for 
several  months.  Believing  that  you  of  the  border 
States  hold  more  power  for  good  than  any  other 
equal  number  of  members,  I  feel  it  a  duty  which 
I  cannot  justifiably  waive,  to  make  this  appeal 
to  you. 

I  intend  no  reproach  or  complaint  when  I 
assure  you  that,  in  my  opinion,  if  you  all  had 
voted  for  the  resolution  in  the  gradual- emanci- 
pation message  of  last  March,  the  war  would  now 
be  substantially  ended.  And  the  plan  therein  pro- 
posed is  yet  one  of  the  most  potent  and  swift 
means  of  ending  it.  Let  the  States  which  are  in 
rebellion  see,  definitely  and  certainly,  that  in  no 
event  will  the  States  you  represent  ever  join  their 
proposed  confederacy,  and  they  cannot  much 
longer  maintain  the  contest.  But  you  cannot 
divest  them  of  their  hope  to  ultimately  have  you 
with  them,  so  long  as  you  show  a  determination  to 
perpetuate  the  institution  within  your  own  States. 
Beat  them  at  elections,  as  you  have  overwhelm- 
ingly done,  and,  nothing  daunted,  they  still  claim 


2/0  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

you  as  their  own.  You  and  I  know  what  the 
lever  of  their  power  is.  Break  that  lever  before 
their  faces,  and  they  can  shake  you  no  more 
forever. 

Most  of  you  have  treated  me  with  kindness 
and  consideration,  and  I  trust  you  will  not  now 
think  I  improperly  touch  what  is  exclusively  your 
own,  when,  for  the  sake  of  the  whole  country  I 
ask,  Can  you,  for  your  States,  do  better  than  to 
take  the  course  I  urge?  Discarding  punctilio 
and  maxims  adapted  to  more  manageable  times, 
and  looking  only  to  the  unprecedentedly  stern 
facts  of  our  case,  can  you  do  better  in  any  pos- 
sible event?  You  prefer  that  the  constitutional 
relation  of  the  States  to  the  nation  shall  be  prac- 
tically restored  without  disturbance  of  the  insti- 
tution ;  and  if  this  were  done,  my  whole  duty  in 
this  respect,  under  the  Constitution  and  my  oath 
of  office,  would  be  performed.  But  it  is  not 
done,  and  we  are  trying  to  accomplish  it  by  war. 
The  incidents  of  the  war  cannot  be  avoided.  If 
the  war  continues  long,  as  it  must  if  the  object 
be  not  sooner  attained,  the  institution  in  your 
States  will  be  extinguished  by  mere  friction  and 
abrasion,  —  by  the  mere  incidents  of  the  war. 
It  will  be  gone,  and  you  will  have  nothing  valu- 
able in  lieu  of  it.  Much  of  its  value  is  gone 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  2JI 

already.  How  much  better  for  you  and  for  your 
people  to  take  the  step  which  at  once  shortens 
the  war  and  secures  substantial  compensation  for 
that  which  is  sure  to  be  wholly  lost  in  any  other 
event  ?  How  much  better  to  thus  save  the  money 
which  else  we  sink  forever  in  the  war  !  How  much 
better  to  do  it  while  we  can,  lest  the  war  ere  long 
render  us  pecuniarily  unable  to  do  it !  How  much 
better  for  you  as  seller,  and  the  nation  as  buyer, 
to  sell  out  and  buy  out  that  without  which  the 
war  could  never  have  been,  than  to  sink  both  the 
thing  to  be  sold  and  the  price  of  it  in  cutting  one 
another's  throats  ! 

I  do  not  speak  of  emancipation  at  once,  but 
of  a  decision  at  once  to  emancipate  gradually. 
Room  in  South  America  for  colonisation  can  be 
obtained  cheaply  and  in  abundance,  and  when 
numbers  shall  be  large  enough  to  be  company 
and  encouragement  for  one  another,  the  freed 
people  will  not  be  so  reluctant  to  go. 

I  am  pressed  with  a  difficulty  not  yet  mentioned, 
—  one  which  threatens  division  among  those  who, 
united,  are  none  too  strong.  General  Hunter  is  an 
honest  man.  He  was,  and  I  hope  still  is,  my 
friend.  I  valued  him  none  the  less  for  his  agree- 
ing with  me  in  the  general  wish  that  all  men 
everywhere  could  be  free.  He  proclaimed  all 


2/2  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

men  free  within  certain  States,  and  I  repudiated 
the  proclamation.  He  expected  more  good  and 
less  harm  from  the  measure  than  I  could  believe 
would  follow.  Yet  in  repudiating  it,  I  gave  dis- 
satisfaction if  not  offence  to  many  whose  support 
the  country  cannot  afford  to  lose.  And  this  is 
not  the  end  of  it.  The  pressure  in  this  direction 
is  still  upon  me,  and  is  increasing.  By  conceding 
what  I  now  ask,  you  can  relieve  me,  and,  much 
more,  can  relieve  the  country,  in  this  important 
point. 

Upon  these  considerations  I  have  again  begged 
your  attention  to  the  message  of  March  last. 
Before  leaving  the  Capitol,  consider  and  discuss  it 
among  yourselves.  You  are  patriots  and  states- 
men, and  as  such,  I  pray  you,  consider  this 
proposition,  and  at  the  least  commend  it  to  the 
consideration  of  your  States  and  people.  As  you 
would  perpetuate  popular  government  for  the 
best  people  in  the  world,  I  beseech  you  that  you 
do  in  no  wise  omit  this.  Our  common  country 
is  in  great  peril,  demanding  the  loftiest  views  and 
boldest  action  to  bring  it  speedy  relief.  Once 
relieved,  its  form  of  government  is  saved  to  the 
world,  its  beloved  history  and  cherished  memories 
are  vindicated,  and  its  happy  future  fully  assured 
and  rendered  inconceivably  grand.  To  you  more 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  273 

than  to  any  others  the  privilege  is  given  to  assure 
that  happiness  and  swell  that  grandeur,  and  to 
link  your  own  names  therewith  forever. 


LETTER  TO  CUTHBERT  BULLITT. 

July  28,  1862. 

THE  copy  of  a  letter  addressed  to  yourself  by 
Mr.  Thomas  J.  Durant  has  been  shown  to  me. 
The  writer  appears  to  be  an  able,  dispassionate, 
and  an  entirely  sincere  man.  The  first  part  of 
the  letter  is  devoted  to  an  effort  to  show  that  the 
secession  ordinance  of  Louisiana  was  adopted 
against  the  will  of  the  majority  of  the  people. 
This  is  probably  true,  and  in  that  fact  may  be 
found  some  instruction.  Why  did  they  allow 
the  ordinance  to  go  into  effect?  Why  did  they 
not  exert  themselves?  Why  stand  passive  and 
allow  themselves  to  be  trodden  down  by  a  mi- 
nority? Why  did  they  not  hold  popular  meet- 
ings, and  have  a  convention  of  their  own,  to 
express  and  enforce  the  true  sentiments  of  the 
State?  If  pre-organisation  was  against  them, 
then  why  not  do  this  now,  that  the  United  States 
army  is  present  to  protect  them  ?  The  paralysis 
—  the  dead  palsy  —  of  the  government  in  this 
whole  struggle  is,  that  this  class  of  men  will  do  noth- 
18 


2/4  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

ing  for  the  government,  nothing  for  themselves, 
except  demanding  that  the  government  shall  not 
strike  its  open  enemies,  lest  they  be  struck  by 
accident ! 

Mr.  Durant  complains  that  in  various  ways  the 
relation  of  master  and  slave  is  disturbed  by  the 
presence  of  our  army ;  and  he  considers  it  par- 
ticularly vexatious  that  this,  in  part,  is  done  under 
cover  of  an  act  of  Congress,  while  constitutional 
guarantees  are  suspended  on  the  plea  of  military 
necessity.  The  truth  is,  that  what  is  done  and 
omitted  about  slaves,  is  done  and  omitted  on  the 
same  military  necessity.  It  is  a  military  necessity 
to  have  men  and  money ;  and  we  cannot  get  either 
in  sufficient  numbers  or  amounts  if  we  keep  from, 
or  drive  from,  our  lines  slaves  coming  to  them. 

Mr.  Durant  cannot  be  ignorant  of  the  pressure 
in  this  direction,  nor  of  my  efforts  to  hold  it 
within  bounds  till  he,  and  such  as  he,  shall  have 
time  to  help  themselves. 

I  am  not  posted  to  speak  understandingly  of 
the  police  regulations  of  which  Mr.  Durant  com- 
plains. If  experience  shows  any  one  of  them  to  be 
wrong,  let  them  be  set  right.  I  think  I  can  per- 
ceive in  the  freedom  of  trade  which  Mr.  Durant 
urges,  that  he  would  relieve  both  friends  and 
enemies  from  the  pressure  of  the  blockade.  By 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  275 

this  he  would  serve  the  enemy  more  effectively 
than  the  enemy  is  able  to  serve  himself. 

I  do  not  say  or  believe  that  to  serve  the  enemy 
is  the  purpose  of  Mr.  Durant,  or  that  he  is  con- 
scious of  any  purpose  other  than  national  and 
patriotic  ones.  Still,  if  there  were  a  class  of  men 
who,  having  no  choice  of  sides  in  the  contest, 
were  anxious  only  to  have  quiet  and  comfort  for 
themselves  while  it  rages,  and  to  fall  in  with  the 
victorious  side  at  the  end  of  it,  without  loss  to 
themselves,  their  advice  as  to  the  mode  of  con- 
ducting the  contest  would  be  precisely  such  as  his. 

He  speaks  of  no  duty  —  apparently  thinks  of 
none  —  resting  upon  Union  men.  He  even  thinks 
it  injurious  to  the  Union  cause  that  they  should 
be  restrained  in  trade  and  passage  without  taking 
sides.  They  are  to  touch  neither  a  sail  nor  a 
pump,  —  live  merely  as  passengers  (dead-heads, 
at  that) ,  —  to  be  carried  snug  and  dry  throughout 
the  storm,  and  safely  landed  right  side  up.  Nay, 
more  —  even  a  mutineer  is  to  go  untouched  lest 
these  sacred  passengers  receive  an  accidental 
wound. 

Of  course  the  rebellion  will  never  be  suppressed 
in  Louisiana  if  the  professed  Union  men  there 
will  neither  help  to  do  it,  nor  permit  the  govern- 
ment to  do  it  without  their  help. 

Now,  I  think  the  true  remedy  is  very  different 


276  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

from  that  suggested  by  Mr.  Durant.  It  does  not 
lie  in  rounding  the  rough  angles  of  the  war,  but 
in  removing  the  necessity  for  the  war.  The  people 
of  Louisiana  who  wish  protection  to  person  and 
property,  have  but  to  reach  forth  their  hands  and 
take  it.  Let  them  in  good  faith  reinaugurate 
the  national  authority,  and  set  up  a  State  gov- 
ernment conforming  thereto  under  the  Constitu- 
tion. They  know  how  to  do  it,  and  can  have  the 
protection  of  the  army  while  doing  it.  The  army 
will  be  withdrawn  as  soon  as  such  government 
can  dispense  with  its  presence,  and  the  people  of 
the  State  can  then,  upon  the  old  constitutional 
terms,  govern  themselves  to  their  own  liking. 
This  is  very  simple  and  easy. 

If  they  will  not  do  this,  if  they  prefer  to 
hazard  all  for  the  sake  of  destroying  the  govern- 
ment, it  is  for  them  to  consider  whether  it  is 
probable  that  I  will  surrender  the  government  to 
save  them  from  losing  all.  If  they  decline  what 
I  suggest,  you  will  scarcely  need  to  ask  what  I 
will  do. 

What  would  you  do  in  my  position?  Would 
you  drop  the  war  where  it  is,  or  would  you  prose- 
cute it  in  future  with  elder-stalk  squirts  charged 
with  rose-water?  Would  you  deal  lighter  blows 
rather  than  heavier  ones  ?  Would  you  give  up  the 
contest,  leaving  any  available  means  untried  ? 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  277 

I  am  in  no  boastful  mood.  I  shall  not  do  more 
than  I  can ;  but  I  shall  do  all  I  can  to  save  the 
government,  which  is  my  sworn  duty  as  well  as 
my  personal  inclination.  I  shall  do  nothing  in 
malice.  What  I  deal  with  is  too  vast  for  malicious 
dealing. 


FROM  HIS  LETTER  TO  COUNT  GASPARIN. 

August  4,  1862. 

"...  The  moral  effect  was  the  worst  of  the 
affair  before  Richmond,  and  that  has  run  its 
course  downward.  We  are  now  at  a  stand,  and 
shall  soon  be  rising  again,  as  we  hope.  I  believe 
it  is  true  that  in  men  and  material  the  enemy  suf- 
fered more  than  we  in  that  series  of  conflicts, 
while  it  is  certain  he  is  less  able  to  bear  it. 

"  With  us  every  soldier  is  a  man  of  character, 
and  must  be  treated  with  more  consideration  than 
is  customary  in  Europe.  Hence  our  great  army, 
for  slighter  causes  than  could  have  prevailed  there, 
has  dwindled  rapidly,  bringing  the  necessity  for  a 
new  call  earlier  than  was  anticipated.  We  shall 
easily  obtain  the  new  levy,  however.  Be  not 
alarmed  if  you  shall  learn  that  we  have  to  draft 
for  part  of  this.  It  seems  strange  even  to  me, 
but  it  is  true,  that  the  government  is  now  pressed 


278  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

to  this  course  by  a  popular  demand.  Thousands 
who  wish  not  to  personally  enter  the  service  are 
nevertheless  anxious  to  pay  and  send  substitutes, 
provided  they  can  have  assurance  that  unwilling 
persons,  similarly  situated,  will  be  compelled  to  do 
likewise.  Besides  this,  volunteers  mostly  choose 
to  enter  newly  forming  regiments,  while  drafted 
men  can  be  sent  to  fill  up  old  ones,  wherein, 
man  for  man,  they  are  quite  doubly  as  valuable. 

"  You  ask,  « Why  is  it  that  the  North,  with  her 
great  armies,  so  often  is  found  with  inferiority  of 
numbers  face  to  face  with  the  armies  of  the 
South?'  While  I  painfully  know  the  fact,  a 
military  man,  which  I  am  not,  would  better  an- 
swer the  question.  The  fact,  I  know,  has  not 
been  overlooked,  and  I  suppose  the  cause  of  its 
continuance  lies  mainly  in  the  other  fact  that  the 
enemy  holds  the  interior,  and  we  the  exterior 
lines ;  and  that  we  operate  where  the  people  con- 
vey information  to  the  enemy,  while  he  operates 
where  they  convey  none  to  us.  ... 

"  I  am  very  happy  to  know  that  my  course  has 
not  conflicted  with  your  judgment  of  propriety 
and  policy.  I  can  only  say  that  I  have  acted 
upon  my  best  convictions  without  selfishness  or 
malice,  and  that,  by  the  help  of  God,  I  shall 
continue  to  do  so." 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  279 

His  LETTER  TO  HORACE  GREELEY. 

August  22,   l862. 

I  have  just  read  yours  of  the  igth  instant, 
addressed  to  myself  through  the  "  New  York 
Tribune." 

If  there  be  in  it  any  statements  or  assumptions 
of  fact  which  I  may  know  to  be  erroneous,  I  do 
not  now  and  here  controvert  them. 

If  there  be  in  it  any  inferences  which  I  may 
believe  to  be  falsely  drawn,  I  do  not  now  and 
here  argue  against  them. 

If  there  be  perceptible  in  it  an  impatient  and 
dictatorial  tone,  I  waive  it,  in  deference  to  an  old 
friend  whose  heart  I  have  always  supposed  to  be 
right. 

As  to  the  policy  I  "  seem  to  be  pursuing,"  as 
you  say,  I  have  not  meant  to  leave  any  one  in 
doubt.  I  would  save  the  Union.  I  would  save 
it  in  the  shortest  way  under  the  Constitution. 

The  sooner  the  national  authority  can  be  re- 
stored, the  nearer  the  Union  will  be,  —  the  Union 
as  it  was. 

If  there  be  those  who  would  not  save  the  Union 
unless  they  could  at  the  same  time  save  slavery, 
I  do  not  agree  with  them. 

If  there  be  those  who  would  not  save  the  Union 


280  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 

unless  they  could  at  the  same  time  destroy  slavery, 
I  do  not  agree  with  them. 

My  paramount  object  in  this  struggle  is  to  save 
the  Union,  and  not  either  to  save  or  to  destroy 
slavery, 

If  I  could  save  the  Union  without  freeing  any 
slave,  I  would  do  it ;  if  I  could  save  it  by  freeing 
all  the  slaves,  I  would  do  it ;  and  if  I  could  save 
it  by  freeing  some  and  leaving  others  alone,  I 
would  also  do  that. 

What  I  do  about  slavery  and  the  coloured  race, 
I  do  because  I  believe  it  helps  to  save  the  Union ; 
and  what  I  forbear,  I  forbear  because  I  do  not 
believe  it  would  help  to  save  the  Union. 

I  shall  do  less  whenever  I  shall  believe  that 
what  I  am  doing  hurts  the  cause ;  and  I'  shall  do 
more  whenever  I  shall  believe  doing  more  will 
help  the  cause. 

I  shall  try  to  correct  errors  where  shown  to  be 
errors,  and  I  shall  adopt  new  views  as  fast  as  they 
shall  appear  to  be  true  views. 

I  have  here  stated  my  purpose  according  to  my 
views  of  official  duty,  and  I  intend  no  modifica- 
tion of  my  oft- expressed  personal  wish  that  all 
men  everywhere  could  be  free. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  281 

FROM  HIS  REPLY  TO  THE  CHICAGO  COMMITTEE 
OF  UNITED  RELIGIOUS  DENOMINATIONS,  URGING 
IMMEDIATE  EMANCIPATION. 

September  13,  1862. 

"...  I  am  approached  with  the  most  oppo- 
site opinions  and  advice,  and  that  by  religious 
men,  who  are  equally  certain  that  they  represent 
the  Divine  will.  I  am  sure  that  either  the  one  01 
the  other  class  is  mistaken  in  that  belief,  and  per- 
haps, in  some  respects,  both.  I  hope  it  will  not 
be  irreverent  for  me  to  say,  that  if  it  is  probable 
that  God  would  reveal  His  will  to  others,  on  a 
point  so  connected  with  my  duty,  it  might  be 
supposed  that  He  would  reveal  it  directly  to  me ; 
for,  unless  I  am  more  deceived  in  myself  than  I 
often  am,  it  is  my  earnest  desire  to  know  the  will 
of  Providence  in  this  matter.  And  if  I  can  learn 
what  it  is,  I  will  do  it.  These  are  not,  however, 
the  days  of  miracles,  and  I  suppose  it  will  be 
granted  that  I  am  not  to  expect  a  direct  revela- 
tion. I  must  study  the  plain,  physical  facts  of 
the  case,  ascertain  what  is  possible,  and  learn 
what  appears  to  be  wise  and  right. 

"  The  subject  is  difficult,  and  good  men  do  not 
agree.  For  instance,  four  gentlemen  of  standing 
and  intelligence,  from  New  York,  called  as  n  dele- 


282  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

gation  on  business  connected  with  the  war ;  but 
before  leaving,  two  of  them  earnestly  besought 
me  to  proclaim  general  emancipation,  upon  which 
the  other  two  at  once  attacked  them.  You  also 
know  that  the  last  session  of  Congress  had  a 
decided  majority  of  anti-slavery  men,  yet  they 
could  not  unite  on  this  policy.  And  the  same 
is  true  of  the  religious  people. 

"...  What  good  would  a  proclamation  of 
emancipation  from  me  do,  especially  as  we  are 
now  situated?  I  do  not  want  to  issue  a  docu- 
ment that  the  whole  world  will  see  must  neces- 
sarily be  inoperative,  like  the  Pope's  bull  against 
the  comet !  Would  my  word  free  the  slaves, 
when  I  cannot  even  enforce  the  Constitution  in 
the  rebel  States?  Is  there  a  single  court  or 
magistrate  or  individual  that  would  be  influenced 
by  it  there?  And  what  reason  is  there  to  think 
it  would  have  any  greater  effect  upon  the  slaves 
than  the  late  law  of  Congress,  which  I  approved, 
and  which  offers  protection  and  freedom  to  the 
slaves  of  rebel  masters  who  come  within  our 
lines?  Yet  I  cannot  learn  that  that  law  has 
caused  a  single  slave  to  come  over  to  us.  And 
suppose  they  could  be  induced  by  a  proclamation 
of  freedom  from  me  to  throw  themselves  upon  us, 
what  should  we  do  with  them  ?  How  can  we  feed 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  283 

and  care  for  such  a  multitude  ?  General  Butler 
wrote  me  a  few  days  since  that  he  was  issuing 
more  rations  to  the  slaves  who  have  rushed  to 
him  than  to  all  the  white  troops  under  his  com- 
mand. They  eat,  and  that  is  all;  though  it  is 
true  General  Butler  is  feeding  the  whites  also  by 
the  thousand,  for  it  nearly  amounts  to  a  famine 
there.  If  now,  the  pressure  of  the  war  should 
call  off  our  forces  from  New  Orleans  to  defend 
some  other  point,  what  is  to  prevent  the  masters 
from  reducing  the  blacks  to  slavery  again  ?  For  I 
am  told  that  whenever  the  rebels  take  any  black 
prisoners,  free  or  slave,  they  immediately  auction 
them  off !  They  did  so  with  those  they  took  from 
a  boat  that  was  aground  in  the  Tennessee  River  a 
few  days  ago.  And  then  I  am  very  ungenerously 
attacked  for  it.  For  instance,  when,  after  the 
late  battles  at  and  near  Bull  Run,  an  expedition 
went  out  from  Washington  under  a  flag  of  truce 
to  bury  the  dead  and  bring  in  the  wounded,  and 
the  rebels  seized  the  blacks  who  went  along  to 
help,  and  sent  them  into  slavery,  Horace  Greeley 
said  in  his  paper  '  that  the  government  would 
probably  do  nothing  about  it.'  What  could  I  do  ? 
"  Now,  then,  tell  me,  if  you  please,  what  possible 
result  of  good  would  follow  the  issuing  of  such  a 
proclamation  as  you  desire  ?  Understand,  I  raise 


284  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

no  objections  against  it  on  legal  or  constitutional 
grounds,  for,  as  commander-in-chief  of  the  army 
and  navy,  in  time  of  war  I  suppose  I  have  a  right 
to  take  any  measures  which  may  best  subdue  the 
enemy ;  nor  do  I  urge  objections  of  a  moral  nature, 
in  view  of  possible  consequences  of  insurrection 
and  massacre  at  the  South.  I  view  this  matter  as 
a  practical  war-measure,  to  be  decided  on  accord- 
ing to  the  advantages  or  disadvantages  it  may 
offer  to  the  suppression  of  the  rebellion." 

[The  committee  had  said  that  emancipation 
would  secure  us  the  sympathy  of  the  world,  slav- 
ery being  the  cause  of  the  war.  To  which  the 
President  replied  :] 

"  I  admit  that  slavery  is  at  the  root  of  the 
rebellion,  or  at  least  its  sine  qua  non.  The  am- 
bition of  politicians  may  have  instigated  them  to 
act,  but  they  would  have  been  impotent  without 
slavery  as  their  instrument.  I  will  also  concede 
that  emancipation  would  help  us  in  Europe,  and 
convince  them  that  we  are  incited  by  something 
more  than  ambition.  I  grant  further,  that  it 
would  help  somewhat  at  the  North,  though  not 
so  much,  I  fear,  as  you  and  those  you  represent, 
imagine.  Still,  some  additional  strength  would 
be  added  in  that  way  to  the  war,  —  and  then, 
unquestionably,  it  would  weaken  the  rebels  by 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  285 

drawing  off  their  labourers,  which  is  of  great 
importance ;  but  I  am  not  so  sure  that  we  could 
do  much  with  the  blacks.  If  we  were  to  arm 
them,  I  fear  that  in  a  few  weeks  the  arms  would 
be  in  the  hands  of  the  rebels ;  and  indeed,  thus 
far,  we  have  not  had  arms  enough  to  equip  our 
white  troops.  I  will  mention  another  thing, 
though  it  meet  only  your  scorn  and  contempt. 
There  are  fifty  thousand  bayonets  in  the  Union 
armies  from  the  border  slave  States.  It  would  be 
a  serious  matter  if,  in  consequence  of  a  procla- 
mation such  as  you  desire,  they  should  go  over 
to  the  rebels.  I  do  not  think  they  all  would,  — 
not  so  many  indeed,  as  a  year  ago,  nor  as  six 
months  ago ;  not  so  many  to-day  as  yesterday. 
Every  day  increases  their  Union  feeling.  They 
are  also  getting  their  pride  enlisted,  and  want  to 
beat  the  rebels.  Let  me  say  one  thing  more  :  I 
think  you  should  admit  that  we  already  have  an 
important  principle  to  rally  and  unite  the  people, 
in  the  fact  that  constitutional  government  is  at 
stake.  This  is  a  fundamental  idea,  going  down 
about  as  deep  as  anything. 

"  Do  not  misunderstand  me  because  I  have 
mentioned  these  objections.  They  indicate  the 
difficulties  that  have  thus  far  prevented  my  action 
in  some  such  way  as  you  desire.  I  have  not  de- 


286  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

cided  against  a  proclamation  of  liberty  to  the 
slaves,  but  hold  the  matter  under  advisement. 
And  I  can  assure  you  that  the  subject  is  on  my 
mind  by  day  and  night,  more  than  any  other. 
Whatever  shall  appear  to  be  God's  will,  I  will  do. 
I  trust  that  in  the  freedom  with  which  I  have 
canvassed  your  views,  I  have  not  in  any  respect 
injured  your  feelings." 


His  ORDER  TO  REMEMBER  AND  KEEP  THE  SABBATH 

DAY. 

November  15,  1862. 

THE  President,  commander-in-chief  of  the 
army  and  navy,  desires  and  enjoins  the  orderly 
observance  of  the  Sabbath  by  the  officers  and 
men  in  the  military  and  naval  service.  The  im- 
portance for  man  and  beast  of  the  prescribed 
weekly  rest,  the  sacred  rights  of  Christian  sol- 
diers and  sailors,  a  becoming  deference  to  the  best 
sentiment  of  a  Christian  people,  and  a  due  regard 
for  the  Divine  will  demand  that  Sunday  labour 
in  the  army  and  navy  be  reduced  to  the  measure 
of  strict  necessity.  The  discipline  and  character 
of  the  national  forces  should  not  suffer,  nor  the 
cause  they  defend  be  imperilled,  by  the  profana- 
tion of  the  day  or  name  of  the  Most  High.  "  At 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  287 

this  time  of  public  distress,"  adopting  the  words 
of  Washington,  in  1776,  "men  may  find  enough 
to  do  in  the  service  of  God  and  their  country, 
without  abandoning  themselves  to  vice  and  im- 
morality." The  first  general  order  issued  by  the 
Father  of  his  Country,  after  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  indicates  the  spirit  in  which  our 
institutions  were  founded  and  should  ever  be  de- 
fended. "  The  general  hopes  and  trusts  that 
every  officer  and  man  will  endeavour  to  live  and 
act  as  becomes  a  Christian  soldier,  defending  the 
dearest  rights  and  liberties  of  his  country." 


FROM  THE  ANNUAL  MESSAGE  TO  CONGRESS. 

December  I,  1862. 

"  SINCE  your  last  annual  assembling,  another 
year  of  health  and  bountiful  harvests  has  passed ; 
and  while  it  has  not  pleased  the  Almighty  to  bless 
us  with  a  return  of  peace,  we  can  but  press  on, 
guided  by  the  best  light  He  gives  us,  trusting 
that  in  His  own  good  time  and  wise  way,  all  will 
yet  be  well. 

"...  If  the  condition  of  our  relations  with 
Other  nations  is  less  gratifying  than  it  has  usually 
been  at  former  periods,  it  is  certainly  more  satis- 


288  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

factory  than  a  nation  so  unhappily  distracted  as 
we  are,  might  reasonably  have  apprehended.  In 
the  month  of  June  last,  there  were  some  grounds 
to  expect  that  the  maritime  powers,  which,  at  the 
beginning  of  our  domestic  difficulties,  so  unwisely 
and  unnecessarily,  as  we  think,  recognised  the 
insurgents  as  a  belligerent,  would  soon  recede 
from  that  position,  which  has  proved  only  less 
injurious  to  themselves  than  to  our  own  country. 
But  the  temporary  reverses  which  afterward  befell 
the  national  arms,  and  which  were  exaggerated  by 
our  own  disloyal  citizens  abroad,  have  hitherto 
delayed  that  act  of  simple  justice. 

"  The  Civil  War,  which  has  so  radically  changed 
for  the  moment  the  occupations  and  habits  of 
the  American  people,  has  necessarily  disturbed 
the  social  condition  and  affected  very  deeply  the 
prosperity  of  the  nations  with  which  we  have 
carried  on  a  commerce  that  has  been  steadily 
increasing  throughout  a  period  of  half  a  century. 
It  has,  at  the  same  time,  excited  political  ambi- 
tions and  apprehensions  which  have  produced  a 
profound  agitation  throughout  the  civilised  world. 
In  this  unusual  agitation  we  have  forborne  from 
taking  part  in  any  controversy  between  foreign 
States,  and  between  parties  or  factions  in  such 
States.  We  have  attempted  no  propagandism 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  289 

and  acknowledged  no  revolution.  But  we  have 
left  to  every  nation  the  exclusive  conduct  and 
management  of  its  own  affairs.  Our  struggle  has 
been,  of  course,  contemplated  by  foreign  nations 
with  reference  less  to  its  own  merits  than  to  its 
supposed  and  often  exaggerated  effects  and  con- 
sequences resulting  to  those  nations  themselves. 
Nevertheless,  complaint  on  the  part  of  this  gov- 
ernment, even  if  it  were  just,  would  certainly  be 
unwise. 

"...  The  condition  of  the  finances  will  claim 
your  most  diligent  consideration.  The  vast  ex- 
penditures incident  to  the  military  and  naval  opera- 
tions required  for  the  suppression  of  the  rebel- 
lion, have  hitherto  been  met  with  a  promptitude 
and  certainty  unusual  in  similar  circumstances, 
and  the  public  credit  has  been  fully  maintained. 

" .  .  .A  nation  may  be  said  to  consist  of  its 
territory,  its  people,  and  its  laws.  The  territory 
is  the  only  part  which  is  of  certain  durability. 
'  One  generation  passeth  away,  and  another  gen- 
eration cometh,  but  the  earth  abideth  forever.' 
It  is  of  the  first  importance  to  duly  consider  and 
estimate  this  ever-enduring  part.  That  portion 
of  the  earth's  surface  which  is  owned  and  inhab- 
ited by  the  people  of  the  United  States  is  well 
adapted  to  be  the  home  of  one  national  family, 
'9 


290  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

and  it  is  not  well  adapted  for  two  or  more.  Its 
vast  extent  and  its  variety  of  climate  and  pro- 
ductions are  of  advantage  in  this  age  for  one 
people,  whatever  they  might  have  been  in  former 
ages.  Steam,  telegraphs,  and  intelligence  have 
brought  these  to  be  an  advantageous  combination 
for  one  united  people. 

"  In  the  inaugural  address  I  briefly  pointed  out 
the  total  inadequacy  of  disunion  as  a  remedy  for 
the  differences  between  the  people  of  the  two  sec- 
tions. [Here  several  paragraphs  from  the  inau- 
gural address  were  repeated.] 

"...  There  is  no  line,  straight  or  crooked, 
suitable  for  a  national  boundary,  upon  which  to 
divide.  Trace  through  from  east  to  west  upon 
the  line  between  the  free  and  the  slave  country, 
and  we  shall  find  a  little  more  than  one  third  of 
its  length  are  rivers,  easy  to  be  crossed,  and  pop- 
ulated, or  soon  to  be  populated,  thickly  upon 
both  sides ;  while  nearly  all  its  remaining  length 
are  merely  surveyors'  lines,  over  which  people 
may  walk  back  and  forth  without  any  conscious- 
ness of  their  presence.  No  part  of  this  line  can 
be  made  any  more  difficult  to  pass,  by  writing  it 
down  on  paper  or  parchment  as  a  national  boun- 
dary. The  fact  of  separation,  if  it  comes,  gives 
up,  on  the  part  of  the  seceding  section,  the  fugitive- 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  291 

slave  clause,  along  with  all  other  constitutional 
obligations  upon  the  section  seceded  from,  while 
I  should  expect  no  treaty  stipulation  would  be 
ever  made  to  take  its  place. 

"  But  there  is  another  difficulty.  The  great 
interior  region  bounded  east  by  the  Alleghanies, 
north  by  the  British  dominions,  west  by  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  and  south  by  the  line  along 
which  the  culture  of  corn  and  cotton  meets,  .  .  . 
already  has  above  ten  millions  of  people,  and  will 
have  fifty  millions  within  fifty  years,  if  not  pre- 
vented by  any  political  folly  or  mistake.  It  con- 
tains more  than  one-third  of  the  country  owned 
by  the  United  States,  —  certainly  more  than  one 
million  of  square  miles.  Once  half  as  populous  as 
Massachusetts  already  is,  and  it  would  have  more 
than  seventy-five  millions  of  people.  A  glance 
at  the  map  shows  that,  territorially  speaking,  it  is 
the  great  body  of  the  republic.  The  other  parts 
are  but  marginal  borders  to  it.  ...  In  the  pro- 
duction of  provisions,  grains,  grasses,  and  all 
which  proceed  from  them,  this  great  interior 
region  is  naturally  one  of  the  most  important  in 
the  world.  Ascertain  from  the  statistics  the  small 
proportion  of  the  region  which  has,  as  yet,  been 
brought  into  cultivation,  and  also  the  large  and 
rapidly  increasing  amount  of  its  products,  and 


292  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

we  shall  be  overwhelmed  with  the  magnitude  of 
the  prospect  presented.  And  yet  this  region  has 
no  sea-coast,  touches  no  ocean  anywhere.  As 
part  of  one  nation,  its  people  now  find,  and  may 
forever  find,  their  way  to  Europe  by  New  York, 
to  South  America  and  Africa  by  New  Orleans, 
and  to  Asia  by  San  Francisco.  But  separate  our 
common  country  into  two  nations,  as  designed  by 
the  present  rebellion,  and  every  man  of  this  great 
interior  region  is  thereby  cut  off  from  one  or  more 
of  these  outlets,  —  not  perhaps  by  a  physical 
barrier,  but  by  embarrassing  and  onerous  trade 
regulations. 

"...  These  outlets,  east,  west,  and  south, 
are  indispensable  to  the  well-being  of  the  people 
inhabiting,  and  to  inhabit,  this  vast  interior  region. 
Which  of  the  three  may  be  the  best,  is  no  proper 
question.  All  are  better  than  either ;  and  all  of 
right  belong  to  that  people  and  their  successors 
forever.  True  to  themselves,  they  will  not  ask 
where  a  line  of  separation  shall  be,  but  will  vow 
rather  that  there  shall  be  no  such  line.  Nor  are 
the  marginal  regions  less  interested  in  these  com- 
munications to  and  through  them  to  the  great 
outside  world.  They  too,  and  each  of  them,  must 
have  access  to  this  Egypt  of  the  west,  without  pay- 
ing toll  at  the  crossing  of  any  national  boundary. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  293 

"  Our  national  strife  springs  not  from  our  per- 
manent part,  not  from  the  land  we  inhabit,  not 
from  our  national  homestead.  There  is  no  pos- 
sible severing  of  this  but  would  multiply  and  not 
mitigate  evils  among  us.  In  all  its  adaptations  and 
aptitudes,  it  demands  union  and  abhors  separation. 
In  fact,  it  would  ere  long  force  reunion,  however 
much  of  blood  and  treasure  the  separation  might 
have  cost. 

"...  Fellow-citizens,  we  cannot  escape  his- 
tory. We  of  this  Congress  and  this  Administra- 
tion will  be  remembered  in  spite  of  ourselves.  No 
personal  significance  or  insignificance  can  spare 
one  or  another  of  us.  The  fiery  trial  through 
which  we  pass  will  light  us  down,  in  honour  or 
dishonour,  to  the  latest  generation.  We  say  we 
are  for  the  Union.  The  world  will  not  forget 
that  we  say  this.  We  know  how  to  save  the 
Union.  The  world  knows  we  do  know  how  to 
save  it.  We,  even  we  here,  hold  the  power  and 
bear  the  responsibility.  In  giving  freedom  to  the 
slave,  we  assure  freedom  to  the  free,  —  honourable 
alike  in  what  we  give  and  what  we  preserve.  We 
shall  nobly  save  or  meanly  lose  the  last,  best  hope 
of  earth.  Other  means  may  succeed  ;  this  could 
not  fail.  The  way  is  plain,  peaceful,  generous, 
just,  —  a  way  which,  if  followed,  the  world  will 
forever  applaud,  and  God  must  forever  bless." 


294  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

DRAFT  OF  THE  PROCLAMATION  OF  EMANCIPATION 
AS  SUBMITTED  TO  THE  CABINET  FOR  FINAL 
REVISION. 

December  30,  1862. 

Now  therefore,  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President 
of  the  United  States,  by  virtue  of  the  power  in 
me  vested  as   commander-in-chief  of  the   army 
and  navy  of  the  United  States,  in  time  of  actual 
armed  rebellion  against  the  authority  and  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States,  and  as  a  proper  and 
necessary  war-measure  for  suppressing  said  rebel- 
lion, do,  on  this  first  day  of  January,  in  the  year 
of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred   and 
sixty-three,  and  in  accordance  with  my  intention 
so  to  do,  publicly  proclaimed  for  one  hundred 
days  as   aforesaid,   order   and   designate  as   the 
States  and  parts  of  States  in  which  the  people 
thereof,  respectively,   are   this  day   in   rebellion 
against  the  United  States,  the  following,  to  wit : 
[Here  follow  the  States  and  counties  named.] 
And  by  virtue  of  the  power,  and  for  the  pur- 
pose aforesaid,  I  do  order  and  declare  that  all 
persons    held   as  slaves   within   said    designated 
States  and  parts  of  States  are,  and  henceforward 
forever  shall   be  free;    and   that  the    Executive 
Government  of  the  United  States,  including  the 
military  and  naval  authorities  thereof,  will  recog- 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  295 

nise  and  maintain  the  freedom  of  said  persons, 
and  will  do  no  act  or  acts  to  repress  said  persons 
or  any  of  them,  in  any  suitable  efforts  they  may 
make  for  their  actual  freedom ;  and  I  hereby 
appeal  to  the  people  so  declared  to  be  free,  to 
abstain  from  all  disorder,  tumult,  and  violence, 
unless  in  necessary  self-defence,  and  in  all  cases, 
when  allowed,  to  labour  faithfully  for  wages. 

And  I  further  declare  and  make  known,  that 
such  persons  of  suitable  condition  will  be  received 
into  the  armed  service  of  the  United  States,  to 
garrison  and  defend  forts,  positions,  stations,  and 
other  places,  and  to  man  vessels  of  all  sorts  in 
said  service. 


THE  PROCLAMATION  OF  EMANCIPATION. 

January  I,  1863. 

WHEREAS,  on  the  twenty- second  day  of  Sep- 
tember, in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  sixty- two,  a  proclamation  was 
issued  by  the  President  of  the  United  States,  con- 
taining among  other  things  the  following,  to  wit : 

"  That  on  the  first  day  of  January,  in  the  year 
of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
sixty-three,  all  persons  held  as  slaves,  within  any 
State  or  designated  part  of  a  State,  the  people 


296  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

whereof  shall  then  be  in  rebellion  against  the 
United  States,  shall  be  then,  thenceforward  and 
forever,  free  ;  and  the  executive  government  of  the 
United  States,  including  the  military  and  naval 
authority  thereof,  will  recognise  and  maintain  the 
freedom  of  such  persons,  and  will  do  no  act  or 
acts  to  repress  such  persons,  or  any  of  them,  in  any 
efforts  they  may  make  for  their  actual  freedom. 

"  That  the  Executive  will,  on  the  first  day  of 
January  aforesaid,  by  proclamation,  designate  the 
States  and  parts  of  States,  if  any,  in  which  the 
people  thereof,  respectively,  shall  be  then  in  re- 
bellion against  the  United  States ;  and  the  fact 
that  any  State,  or  the  people  thereof,  shall,  on 
that  day,  be  in  good  faith  represented  in  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States,  by  members 
chosen  thereto  at  elections  wherein  a  majority 
of  the  qualified  voters  of  such  State  shall  have 
participated,  shall,  in  the  absence  of  strong  coun- 
tervailing testimony,  be  deemed  conclusive  evi- 
dence that  such  State  and  the  people  thereof, 
are  not  then  in  rebellion  against  the  United 
States." 

Now  therefore,  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President 
of  the  United  States,  by  virtue  of  the  power  in  me 
vested  as  commander-in-chief  of  the  army  and 
navy  of  the  United  States,  in  time  of  actual  armed 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  297 

rebellion  against  the  authority  and  government  of 
the  United  States,  and  as  a  fit  and  necessary  war- 
measure  for  suppressing  said  rebellion,  do,  on  this 
first  day  of  January,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-three,  and  in 
accordance  with  my  purpose  so  to  do,  publicly 
proclaimed  for  the  full  period  of  one  hundred 
days  from  the  day  first  above  mentioned,  order 
and  designate  as  the  States  and  parts  of  States 
wherein  the  people  thereof  respectively  are  this 
day  in  rebellion  against  the  United  States,  the 
following,  to  wit : 

[Here  follows  the  enumeration.] 

And  by  virtue  of  the  power  and  for  the  purpose 
aforesaid,  I  do  order  and  declare  that  all  persons 
held  as  slaves  within  said  designated  States  and 
parts  of  States  are,  and  henceforward  shall  be, 
free ;  and  that  the  executive  government  of  the 
United  States,  including  the  military  and  naval 
authorities  thereof,  will  recognise  and  maintain 
the  freedom  of  said  persons. 

And  I  hereby  enjoin  upon  the  people  so  de- 
clared to  be  free,  to  abstain  from  all  violence, 
unless  in  necessary  self-defence  ;  and  I  recom- 
mend to  them  that  in  all  cases  when  allowed, 
they  labour  faithfully  for  reasonable  wages. 

And  I  further  declare  and  make  known,  that 


298  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

such  persons  of  suitable  condition  will  be  received 
into  the  armed  service  of  the  United  States,  to 
garrison  forts,  positions,  stations,  and  other 
places,  and  to  man  vessels  of  all  sorts  in  said 
service. 

And  upon  this  act,  sincerely  believed  to  be  an 
act  of  justice,  warranted  by  the  Constitution  upon 
military  necessity,  I  invoke  the  considerate  judg- 
ment of  mankind  and  the  gracious  favour  of 
Almighty  God. 


FROM  HIS  MESSAGE  TO  CONGRESS. 

January  17,  1863. 

"...  While  giving  this  approval,  I  think  it 
my  duty  to  express  my  sincere  regret  that  it  has 
been  found  necessary  to  authorise  so  large  an 
additional  issue  of  United  States  notes,  when  this 
circulation  and  that  of  the  suspended  banks  to- 
gether have  become  already  so  redundant  as  to 
increase  prices  beyond  real  values,  thereby  aug- 
menting the  cost  of  living  to  the  injury  of  labour, 
and  the  cost  of  supplies  to  the  injury  of  the  whole 
country.  It  seems  very  plain  that  the  continued 
issues  of  United  States  notes,  without  any  check 
to  the  issues  of  suspended  banks,  and  without 
adequate  provision  for  the  raising  of  money  by 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  299 

loans,  and  for  funding  the  issues  so  as  to  keep 
them  within  due  limits,  must  soon  produce  dis- 
astrous consequences;  and  this  matter  appears 
to  me  so  important,  that  I  feel  bound  to  avail 
myself  of  this  occasion  to  ask  the  special  attention 
of  Congress  to  it. 

"  That  Congress  has  power  to  regulate  the  cur- 
rency of  the  country  can  hardly  admit  of  a  doubt, 
and  that  a  judicious  measure  to  prevent  the  de- 
terioration of  this  currency  by  a  reasonable  taxa- 
tion of  bank  circulation,  or  otherwise,  is  needed, 
seems  equally  clear.  Independently  of  this  gen- 
eral consideration,  it  would  be  unjust  to  the  people 
at  large  to  exempt  banks  enjoying  the  special 
privilege  of  circulation  from  their  just  proportion 
of  the  public  burdens. 

"  In  order  to  raise  money  by  way  of  loans 
most  easily  and  cheaply,  it  is  clearly  necessary  to 
give  every  possible  support  to  the  public  credit. 
To  that  end,  a  uniform  currency  in  which  taxes, 
subscriptions  to  loans,  and  all  other  ordinary  pub- 
lic dues,  as  well  as  all  private,  may  be  paid,  is 
almost  if  not  quite  indispensable.  Such  a  cur- 
rency can  be  furnished  by  banking  associations, 
organised  under  a  general  act  of  Congress,  as 
suggested  in  my  message  at  the  beginning  of  the 
present  session.  The  securing  of  this  circulation 


300  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

by  a  pledge  of  United  States  bonds,  as  therein 
suggested,  would  still  further  facilitate  loans,  by 
increasing  the  present  and  causing  a  future  de- 
mand for  such  bonds. 

"...  By  such  measures,  in  my  opinion,  will 
payment  be  most  certainly  secured,  not  only  to 
the  army  and  navy,  but  to  all  honest  creditors 
of  the  government,  and  satisfactory  provision 
made  for  future  demands  upon  the  treasury." 


His    LETTER   TO    THE    WORKING-MEN    OF   MAN 
CHESTER,   ENGLAND. 

January  19,  1863. 

I  HAVE  the  honour  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of 
the  address  and  resolutions  which  you  sent  me  on 
the  eve  of  the  New  Year.  When  I  came,  on  the 
fourth  of  March,  1861,  through  a  free  and  con- 
stitutional election,  to  preside  in  the  government 
of  the  United  States,  the  country  was  found  at 
the  verge  of  civil  war.  Whatever  might  have 
been  the  cause,  or  whosesoever  the  fault,  one 
duty  paramount  to  all  others  was  before  me ; 
namely,  to  maintain  and  preserve  at  once  the 
Constitution  and  the  integrity  of  the  Federal  Re- 
public. A  conscientious  purpose  to  perform  this 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  30 1 

duty  is  the  key  to  all  the  measures  of  adminis- 
tration which  have  been,  and  to  all  which  will 
hereafter  be,  pursued.  Under  our  frame  of  gov- 
ernment and  by  my  official  oath,  I  could  not 
depart  from  this  purpose  if  I  would.  It  is  not 
always  in  the  power  of  governments  to  enlarge  or 
restrict  the  scope  of  moral  results  which  follow 
the  policies  that  they  may  deem  it  necessary  for 
the  public  safety  from  time  to  time  to  adopt. 

I  have  understood  well  that  the  duty  of  self- 
preservation  rests  solely  with  the  American  peo- 
ple ;  but  I  have  at  the  same  time  been  aware 
that  favour  or  disfavour  of  foreign  nations  might 
have  a  material  influence  in  enlarging  or  prolong- 
ing the  struggle  with  disloyal  men  in  which  the 
country  is  engaged.  A  fair  examination  of  his- 
tory has  served  to  authorise  a  belief  that  the  past 
actions  and  influences  of  the  United  States  were 
generally  regarded  as  having  been  beneficial  to- 
ward mankind.  I  have  therefore  reckoned  upon 
the  forbearance  of  nations.  Circumstances,  to 
some  of  which  you  kindly  allude,  induce  me 
especially  to  expect  that  if  justice  and  good  faith 
should  be  practised  by  the  United  States,  they 
would  encounter  no  hostile  influence  on  the  part 
of  Great  Britain.  It  is  now  a  pleasant  duty  to 
acknowledge  the  demonstration  you  have  given 


302  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

of  your  desire  that  a  spirit  of  amity  and  peace 
toward  this  country  may  prevail  in  the  councils  of 
your  Queen,  who  is  respected  and  esteemed  in 
your  own  country  only  more  than  she  is  by  the 
kindred  nation  which  has  its  home  on  this  side 
of  the  Atlantic. 

I  know  and  deeply  deplore  the  sufferings  which 
the  working-men  at  Manchester,  and  in  all  Europe, 
are  called  to  endure  in  this  crisis.  It  has  been 
often  and  studiously  represented  that  the  at- 
tempt to  overthrow  this  government,  which  was 
built  upon  the  foundation  of  human  rights,  and 
to  substitute  for  it  one  which  should  rest  ex- 
clusively on  the  basis  of  human  slavery,  was 
likely  to  obtain  the  favour  of  Europe.  Through 
the  action  of  our  disloyal  citizens,  the  working-men 
of  Europe  have  been  subjected  to  severe  trials, 
for  the  purpose  of  forcing  their  sanction  to  that 
attempt.  Under  the  circumstances,  I  cannot  but 
regard  your  decisive  utterances  upon  the  question 
as  an  instance  of  sublime  Christian  heroism,  which 
has  not  been  surpassed  in  any  age  or  in  any  coun- 
try. It  is  indeed  an  energetic  and  reinspiring 
assurance  of  the  inherent  power  of  truth,  and  of 
the  ultimate  and  universal  triumph  of  justice, 
humanity,  and  freedom.  I  do  not  doubt  that  the 
sentiments  you  have  expressed  will  be  sustained 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  303 

by  your  great  nation ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  I 
have  no  hesitation  in  assuring  you  that  they  will 
excite  admiration,  esteem,  and  the  most  reciprocal 
feelings  of  friendship  among  the  American  people. 
I  hail  this  interchange  of  sentiment,  therefore,  as 
an  augury  that  whatever  else  may  happen,  what- 
ever misfortune  may  befall  your  country  or  my 
own,  the  peace  and  friendship  which  now  exist 
between  the  two  nations  will  be,  as  it  shall  be  my 
desire  to  make  them,  perpetual. 


His  LETTER  TO  GENERAL  HOOKER. 

January  26,  1863. 

GENERAL  :  I  have  placed  you  at  the  head  of 
the  army  of  the  Potomac.  Of  course  I  have 
done  this  upon  what  appear  to  me  to  be  sufficient 
reasons,  and  yet  I  think  it  best  for  you  to  know 
that  there  are  some  things  in  regard  to  which  I  am 
not  quite  satisfied  with  you.  I  believe  you  to  be 
a  brave  and  skilful  soldier,  which  of  course  I  like. 
I  also  believe  you  do  not  mix  politics  with  your 
profession,  in  which  you  are  right.  You  have 
confidence  in  yourself,  which  is  a  valuable  if 
not  an  indispensable  quality.  You  are  ambitious, 
which,  within  reasonable  bounds,  does  good  rather 


304  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

than  harm  ;  but  I  think  that  during  General  Burn- 
side's  command  of  the  army  you  have  taken 
counsel  of  your  ambition,  and  thwarted  him  as 
much  as  you  could,  —  in  which  you  did  a  great 
wrong  to  the  country,  and  to  a  most  meritorious 
and  honourable  brother  officer.  I  have  heard,  in 
such  a  way  as  to  believe  it,  of  your  recently  say- 
ing that  the  army  and  the  government  needed  a 
dictator.  Of  course  it  was  not  for  this,  but  in 
spite  of  it,  that  I  have  given  you  the  command. 
Only  those  generals  who  gain  successes  can  set  up 
dictators.  What  I  now  ask  of  you  is  military 
success,  and  I  will  risk  the  dictatorship.  The 
government  will  support  you  to  the  utmost  of  its 
ability,  which  is  neither  more  nor  less  than  it  has 
done  and  will  do  for  all  commanders.  I  much 
fear  that  the  spirit  which  you  have  aided  to  infuse 
into  the  army,  of  criticising  their  commander  and 
withholding  confidence  from  him,  will  now  turn 
upon  you.  I  shall  assist  you  as  far  as  I  can  to  put 
it  down,  Neither  you  nor  Napoleon,  if  he  were 
alive  again,  could  get  any  good  out  of  an  army 
while  such  a  spirit  prevails  in  it.  And  now  beware 
of  rashness.  Beware  of  rashness,  but  with  energy 
and  sleepless  vigilance,  go  forward  and  give  us 
victories. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  305 

LETTER  TO  REV.  ALEXANDER  REED. 

February  22,  1863. 

YOUR  note  by  which  you,  as  general  superin- 
tendent of  the  United  States  Christian  Commis- 
sion, invite  me  to  preside  at  a  meeting  to  be  this 
day  held  at  the  hall  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives in  this  city,  is  received. 

While,  for  reasons  which  I  deem  sufficient,  I 
must  decline  to  preside,  I  cannot  withhold  my 
approval  of  the  meeting  and  its  worthy  objects. 
Whatever  shall  be  sincerely,  and  in  God's  name, 
devised  for  the  good  of  the  soldier  and  seaman 
in  their  hard  spheres  of  duty,  can  scarcely  fail  to 
be  blessed.  And  whatever  shall  tend  to  turn  our 
thoughts  from  the  unreasoning  and  uncharitable 
passions,  prejudices,  and  jealousies  incident  to  a 
great  national  trouble  such  as  ours,  and  to  fix 
them  upon  the  vast  and  long- enduring  conse- 
quences, for  weal  or  for  woe,  which  are  to  result 
from  the  struggle,  and  especially  to  strengthen 
our  reliance  on  the  Supreme  Being  for  the  final 
triumph  of  the  right,  cannot  but  be  well  for  us  all. 

The  birthday  of  Washington  and  the  Christian 
Sabbath,  coinciding  this  year,  and  suggesting  to- 
gether the  highest  interests  of  this  life  and  of 
that  to  come,  is  most  propitious  for  the  meeting 
proposed. 


306  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

FROM   HIS   REPLY  TO  THE   PRESBYTERIAN 
CLERGYMEN. 

May,  1863. 

"  IT  has  been  my  happiness  to  receive  testi- 
monies of  a  similar  nature  from,  I  believe,  all 
denominations  of  Christians.  They  are  all  loyal, 
but  perhaps  not  in  the  same  degree,  or  in  the 
same  numbers ;  but  I  think  they  all  claim  to  be 
loyal.  This  to  me  is  most  gratifying,  because 
from  the  beginning  I  saw  that  the  issue  of  our 
great  struggle  depended  on  the  Divine  interpo- 
sition and  favour.  If  we  had  that,  all  would  be 
well.  The  proportions  of  this  rebellion  were  not 
for  a  long  time  understood.  I  saw  that  it  in- 
volved the  greatest  difficulties,  and  would  call 
forth  all  the  powers  of  the  country.  The  end  is 
not  yet. 

"  The  point  made  in  your  paper  is  well  taken  as 
to  the  '  government '  and  '  the  administration,' 
in  whose  hands  are  these  interests.  I  fully  appre- 
ciate its  correctness  and  justice.  In  my  admin- 
istration I  may  have  committed  some  errors.  It 
would  be  indeed  remarkable  if  I  had  not.  I  have 
acted  according  to  my  best  judgment  in  every 
case.  The  views  expressed  by  the  committee 
accord  with  my  own  ;  and  on  this  principle  '  the 
government '  is  to  be  supported,  though  '  the  ad- 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  307 

ministration '  may  not  in  every  case  wisely  act. 
As  a  pilot  I  have  used  my  best  exertions  to  keep 
afloat  our  ship  of  state,  and  shall  be  glad  to  resign 
my  trust  at  the  appointed  time  to  another  pilot, 
more  skilful  and  successful  than  I  may  prove. 
In  every  case  and  at  all  hazards,  the  government 
must  be  perpetuated.  Relying  as  I  do  upon  the 
Almighty  Power,  and  encouraged  as  I  am  by  the 
resolutions  which  you  have  just  read,  with  the  sup- 
port which  I  receive  from  Christian  men,  I  shall 
not  hesitate  to  use  all  the  means  at  my  control 
to  secure  the  termination  of  this  rebellion,  and 
will  hope  for  success.  ..." 


LETTER  TO  ERASTUS  CORNING  AND  OTHERS. 

June  12,  1863. 

[THIS  letter  is  the  President's  answer  to  the 
resolutions  of  a  Democratic  convention  which 
assert  the  loyalty  of  its  members,  but  censure  Mr. 
Lincoln  for  his  suspension  of  the  writ  of  habeas 
corpus,  and  for  approving  military  arrests  in  places 
not  actually  in  rebellion.  The  reply  is  an  un- 
answerable justification  of  his  acts.  As  a  legal 
argument  it  is  conclusive,  and  as  a  specimen  of 
English  composition  it  is  clear,  logical,  and  beau- 
tiful. Its  length  (about  4500  words)  prevents 
the  insertion  here  of  the  entire  document.  To 


308  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

take  an  extract  from  it  would  be  like  removing 
a  stone  from  the  granite  wall  of  a  noble  edi- 
fice :  it  would  deface  the  beauty  and  weaken  the 
strength  of  the  wall,  without  giving  any  adequate 
idea  of  the  building.  No  selection  from  it  is 
therefore  attempted.] 


FROM  HIS   REPLY  TO  THE  RESOLUTIONS  OF  THE 
DEMOCRATIC  STATE  CONVENTION  OF  OHIO. 

June  29,  1863. 

[C.  L.  VALLANDIGHAM,  a  member  of  the  last 
Congress  from  Ohio,  and  a  man  of  misdirected 
ability,  had  by  his  speeches  in  Congress  and  else- 
where promoted  the  rebellion  up  to  the  verge  of 
treason.  On  the  iQth  of  May,  1863,  the  Presi- 
dent ordered  General  Canby  to  put  Vallandigham 
beyond  the  lines,  and  if  he  returned,  to  arrest  and 
imprison  him.  The  Democratic  Convention  of 
Ohio  then  nominated  him  for  governor,  and 
passed  and  sent  resolutions  to  the  President 
which,  while  declaring  its  purpose  to  sustain  the 
National  Union  by  all  constitutional  means,  reas- 
serted the  objections  of  the  Corning  letter,  and 
protested  against  the  arrest  and  deportation  of 
Vallandigham  as  unlawful  and  an  insult  to  Ohio. 
In  this  reply,  among  other  things,  the  President 
said  :] 

"  You   claim   that    men  may,  if  they  choose, 
embarrass  those  whose  duty  it  is  to  combat  a 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  309 

giant  rebellion,  and  then  be  dealt  with  in  turn 
as  if  there  were  no  rebellion.  The  Constitution 
itself  rejects  this  view.  The  military  arrests  and 
detentions  which  have  been  made,  including 
those  of  Mr.  Vallandigham,  which  are  not  differ- 
ent in  principle  from  the  others,  have  been  made 
for  prevention  and  not  for  punishment,  —  as  in- 
junctions to  stay  injury,  as  proceedings  to  keep 
the  peace. 

"...  I  am  unable  to  perceive  an  insult  to  Ohio 
in  the  case  of  Mr.  Vallandigham.  Quite  surely 
nothing  of  the  sort  was  or  is  intended.  I  was 
wholly  unaware  that  Mr.  Vallandigham  was,  at 
the  time  of  his  arrest,  a  candidate  for  the  Demo- 
cratic nomination  for  governor  until  so  informed 
by  your  reading  to  me  the  resolutions  of  the  con- 
vention. I  am  grateful  to  the  State  of  Ohio  for 
many  things,  especially  for  the  brave  soldiers  and 
officers  she  has  given  in  the  present  national  trial 
to  the  armies  of  the  Union. 

"...  We  all  know  that  combinations,  armed 
in  some  instances,  to  resist  the  arrest  of  deserters 
began  several  months  ago  ;  that  more  recently  the 
like  has  appeared  in  resistance  to  the  enrolment 
preparatory  to  the  draft ;  and  that  quite  a  number 
of  assassinations  have  occurred  from  the  same 
animus.  These  had  to  be  met  by  military  force, 


310  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

and  this  again  has  led  to  bloodshed  and  death. 
And  now,  under  a  sense  of  responsibility  more 
weighty  and  enduring  than  any  which  is  merely 
official,  I  solemnly  declare  my  belief  that  this 
hindrance  of  the  military,  including  maiming  and 
murder,  is  due  to  the  course  in  which  Mr.  Val- 
landigham  has  been  engaged,  in  a  greater  degree 
than  to  any  other  cause ;  and  it  is  due  to  him  per- 
sonally in  a  greater  degree  than  to  any  other  man. 

"  These  things  have  been  notorious,  known  to 
all,  and  of  course  known  to  Mr.  Vallandigham. 
Perhaps  I  would  not  be  wrong  to  say  they  origi- 
nated with  his  special  friends  and  adherents. 
With  perfect  knowledge  of  them,  he  has  fre- 
quently, if  not  constantly,  made  speeches  in  Con- 
gress and  before  popular  assemblies  ;  and  if  it  can 
be  shown  that,  with  these  things  staring  him  in 
the  face,  he  has  ever  uttered  a  word  of  rebuke 
or  counsel  against  them,  it  will  be  a  fact  greatly 
in  his  favour  with  me,  and  one  of  which  I  am  as 
yet  totally  ignorant. 

"...  With  all  this  before  their  eyes,  the  con- 
vention you  represent  have  nominated  Mr.  Val- 
landigham for  governor  of  Ohio,  and  both  they 
and  you  have  declared  the  purpose  to  sustain  the 
National  Union  by  all  constitutional  means.  But 
of  course  they  and  you  in  common  reserve  to 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  311 

yourselves  to  decide  what  are  constitutional 
means ;  and,  unlike  the  Albany  meeting,  you 
omit  to  state  or  intimate  that  in  your  opinion  an 
army  is  a  constitutional  means  of  saving  the 
Union  against  a  rebellion,  or  even  to  intimate 
that  you  are  conscious  of  an  existing  rebellion 
being  in  progress  with  the  avowed  object  of  de- 
stroying that  very  Union.  At  the  same  time 
your  nominee  for  governor,  in  whose  behalf  you 
appeal,  is  known  to  you  and  to  the  world  to  de- 
clare against  the  use  of  an  army  to  suppress  the 
rebellion.  Your  own  attitude,  therefore,  encour- 
ages desertion,  resistance  to  the  draft  and  the 
like,  because  it  teaches  those  who  incline  to  de- 
sert and  to  escape  the  draft  to  believe  it  is  your 
purpose  to  protect  them,  and  to  hope  that  you 
will  become  strong  enough  to  do  so. 

"After  a  short  personal  intercourse  with  you, 
gentlemen,  I  cannot  say  that  you  desire  this  effect 
to  follow  your  attitude ;  but  I  assure  you  that 
both  friends  and  enemies  of  the  Union  look  upon 
it  in  this  light.  It  is  a  substantial  hope,  and  by 
consequence  a  real  strength,  to  the  enemy.  If  it 
is  a  false  hope,  and  one  you  would  willingly  dispel, 
I  will  make  the  way  exceedingly  easy. 

"  I  send  you  duplicates  of  this  letter,  in  order 
that  you  or  a  majority  of  you,  may,  if  you  choose, 


312  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

indorse  your  names  upon  one  of  them,  and  return 
it  thus  indorsed  to  me,  with  the  understanding 
that  those  signing  are  thereby  committed  to  the 
following  propositions,  and  to  nothing  else  :  — 

"'i.  That  there  is  now  a  rebellion  in  the 
United  States,  the  object  and  tendency  of  which 
is  to  destroy  the  National  Union ;  and  that  in 
your  opinion  an  army  and  navy  are  constitu- 
tional means  for  suppressing  that  rebellion; 

" '  2.  That  no  one  of  you  will  do  anything  which, 
in  his  own  judgment,  will  tend  to  hinder  the  in- 
crease, or  favour  the  decrease,  or  lessen  the  effi- 
ciency of  the  army  or  navy  while  engaged  in  the 
effort  to  suppress  that  rebellion ;  and 

"'3.  That  each  of  you  will,  in  his  sphere,  do  all 
he  can  to  have  the  officers,  soldiers,  and  seamen 
of  the  army  and  navy,  while  engaged  in  the  effort 
to  suppress  the  rebellion,  paid,  fed,  clad,  and 
otherwise  well  supported  and  provided  for. 

" '  And  with  the  further  understanding  that  upon 
receiving  the  letter  and  names  thus  indorsed,  I 
will  cause  them  to  be  published,  which  publication 
shall  be,  within  itself,  a  revocation  of  the  order 
in  relation  to  Mr.  Vallandigham.' 

"  It  will  not  escape  observation  that  I  consent 
to  the  release  of  Mr.  Vallandigham  upon  terms 
not  embracing  any  pledge  from  him  or  from  others 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  313 

as  to  what  he  will  or  will  not  do.  I  do  this  be- 
cause he  is  not  present  to  speak  for  himself,  or  to 
authorise  others  to  speak  for  him  ;  and  because  I 
should  expect  that  on  his  returning  he  would  not 
put  himself  practically  in  antagonism  with  the 
position  of  his  friends.  But  I  do  it  chiefly  be- 
cause I  thereby  prevail  on  other  influential  gen- 
tlemen of  Ohio  to  so  define  their  position  as  to 
be  of  immense  value  to  the  army,  thus  more 
than  compensating  for  the  consequences  of  any 
mistake  in  allowing  Mr.  Vallandigham  to  return ; 
so  that,  on  the  whole,  the  public  safety  will  not 
have  suffered  by  it.  Still,  in  regard  to  Mr.  Val- 
landigham and  all  others,  I  must  hereafter,  as 
heretofore,  do  so  much  as  the  public  safety  may 
seem  to  require." 


THE  LETTER  TO  JAMES  C.  CONKLING. 

August  26,  1863. 

YOUR  letter  inviting  me  to  attend  a  mass  meet- 
ing of  unconditional  Union  men,  to  be  held  at 
the  capital  of  Illinois  on  the  third  day  of  Sep- 
tember, has  been  received.  It  would  be  very 
agreeable  to  me  to  thus  meet  my  old  friends  at 
my  own  home,  but  I  cannot  just  now  be  absent 
from  here  so  long  as  a  visit  there  would  require. 


314  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

The  meeting  is  to  be  of  all  those  who  maintain 
unconditional  devotion  to  the  Union ;  and  I  am 
sure  my  old  political  friends  will  thank  me  for 
tendering,  as  I  do,  the  nation's  gratitude  to  those 
and  other  noble  men  whom  no  .partisan  malice  or 
partisan  hope  can  make  false  to  the  nation's  life. 

There  are  those  who  are  dissatisfied  with  me. 
To  such  I  would  say :  You  desire  peace,  and  you 
blame  me  that  we  do  not  have  it.  But  how  can 
we  attain  it?  There  are  but  three  conceivable 
ways.  First,  to  suppress  the  rebellion  by  force 
of  arms.  This  I  am  trying  to  do.  Are  you  for 
it?  If  you  are,  so  far  we  are  agreed.  If  you  are 
not  for  it,  a  second  way  is  to  give  up  the  Union. 
I  am  against  this.  Are  you  for  it?  If  you  are, 
you  should  say  so  plainly.  If  you  are  not  for 
force,  nor  yet  for  dissolution,  there  only  remains 
some  imaginable  compromise.  I  do  not  believe 
any  compromise  embracing  the  maintenance  of 
the  Union  is  now  possible.  All  I  learn  leads  to 
a  directly  opposite  belief.  The  strength  of  the 
rebellion  is  its  military,  its  army.  That  army 
dominates  all  the  country  and  all  the  people 
within  its  range.  Any  offer  of  terms  made  by 
any  man  or  men  within  that  range,  in  opposition 
to  that  army,  is  simply  nothing  for  the  present, 
because  such  man  or  men  have  no  power  what- 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  315 

ever  to  enforce  their  side  of  a  compromise,  if  one 
were  made  with  them. 

To  illustrate  :  Suppose  refugees  from  the  South 
and  peace  men  of  the  North  get  together  in  con- 
vention, and  frame  and  proclaim  a  compromise 
embracing  a  restoration  of  the  Union.  In  what 
way  can  that  compromise  be  used  to  keep  Lee's 
army  out  of  Pennsylvania?  Meade's  army  can 
keep  Lee's  out  of  Pennsylvania,  and,  I  think,  can 
ultimately  drive  it  out  of  existence.  But  no  paper 
compromise,  to  which  the  controllers  of  Lee's 
army  are  not  agreed,  can  at  all  affect  that  army. 
In  an  effort  at  such  compromise  we  should  waste 
time  which  the  enemy  would  improve  to  our  dis- 
advantage ;  and  that  would  be  all.  A  compro- 
mise, to  be  effective,  must  be  made  either  with 
those  who  control  the  rebel  army,  or  with  the 
people  first  liberated  from  the  domination  of  that 
army  by  the  success  of  our  own  army.  Now, 
allow  me  to  assure  you  that  no  word  or  intima- 
tion from  that  rebel  army,  or  from  any  of  the  men 
controlling  it,  in  relation  to  any  peace  compro- 
mise, has  ever  come  to  my  knowledge  or  belief. 
All  charges  and  insinuations  to  the  contrary  are 
deceptive  and  groundless.  And  I  promise  you 
that  if  any  such  proposition  shall  hereafter  come, 
it  shall  not  be  rejected  and  kept  a  secret  from 


3l6  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

you.  I  freely  acknowledge  myself  the  servant 
of  the  people,  according  to  the  bond  of  service, 
—  the  United  States  Constitution,  —  and  that,  as 
such,  I  am  responsible  to  them. 

But  to  be  plain.  You  are  dissatisfied  with  me 
about  the  negro.  Quite  likely  there  is  a  differ- 
ence of  opinion  between  you  and  myself  upon 
that  subject.  I  certainly  wish  that  all  men  could 
be  free,  while  I  suppose  you  do  not.  Yet  I  have 
neither  adopted  nor  proposed  any  measure  which 
is  not  consistent  with  even  your  views,  provided 
you  are  for  the  Union.  I  suggested  compensated 
emancipation,  to  which  you  replied,  you  wished 
not  to  be  taxed  to  buy  negroes.  But  I  had  not 
asked  you  to  be  taxed  to  buy  negroes,  except  in 
such  way  as  to  save  you  from  greater  taxation  to 
save  the  Union  exclusively  by  other  means. 

You  dislike  the  Emancipation  Proclamation,  and 
perhaps  would  have  it  retracted.  You  say  it  is 
unconstitutional.  I  think  differently.  I  think 
the  Constitution  invests  its  commander-in-chief 
with  the  law  of  war  in  time  of  war.  The  most 
that  can  be  said  —  if  so  much  —  is  that  slaves  are 
property.  Is  there,  has  there  ever  been,  any 
question  that,  by  the  law  of  war,  property,  both 
of  enemies  and  friends,  may  be  taken  when 
needed?  And  is  it  not  needed  whenever  taking 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  3 1/ 

it  helps  us  or  hurts  the  enemy?  Armies  the  world 
over  destroy  enemies'  property  when  they  cannot 
use  it,  and  even  destroy  their  own  to  keep  it 
from  the  enemy.  Civilised  belligerents  do  all 
in  their  power  to  help  themselves  or  hurt  the 
enemy,  except  a  few  things  regarded  as  barbarous 
or  cruel.  Among  the  exceptions  are  the  massacre 
of  vanquished  foes  and  non-combatants,  male  and 
female. 

But  the  proclamation,  as  law,  either  is  valid  or 
is  not  valid.  If  it  is  not  valid,  it  needs  no  retrac- 
tion. If  it  is  valid,  it  cannot  be  retracted  any 
more  than  the  dead  can  be  brought  to  life.  Some 
of  you  profess  to  think  its  retraction  would  ope- 
rate favourably  for  the  Union.  Why  better  after 
the  retraction  than  before  the  issue?  There  was 
more  than  a  year  and  a  half  of  trial  to  suppress 
the  rebellion  before  the  proclamation  issued, 
the  last  one  hundred  days  of  which  passed  under 
an  explicit  notice  that  it  was  coming,  unless 
averted  by  those  in  revolt  returning  to  their  al- 
legiance. The  war  has  certainly  progressed  as 
favourably  for  us  since  the  issue  of  the  proclama- 
tion as  before.  I  know,  as  fully  as  one  can  know 
the  opinions  of  others,  that  some  of  the  comman- 
ders of  our  armies  in  the  field  who  have  given  us 
our  most  important  successes,  believe  the  eman- 


318  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

cipation  policy  and  the  use  of  coloured  troops  con- 
stitute the  heaviest  blow  yet  dealt  to  the  rebellion, 
and  that  at  least  one  of  these  important  successes 
could  not  have  been  achieved  when  it  was  but  for 
the  aid  of  black  soldiers.  Among  the  comman- 
ders holding  these  views  are  some  who  have  never 
had  any  affinity  with  what  is  called  Abolitionism 
or  with  Republican  party  politics,  but  who  hold 
them  purely  as  military  opinions.  I  submit  these 
opinions  as  being  entitled  to  some  weight  against 
the  objections  often  urged,  that  emancipation  and 
arming  the  blacks  are  unwise  as  military  measures, 
and  were  not  adopted  as  such  in  good  faith. 

You  say  you  will  not  fight  to  free  negroes. 
Some  of  them  seem  willing  to  fight  for  you ;  but 
no  matter.  Fight  you,  then,  exclusively  to  save 
the  Union.  I  issued  the  proclamation  on  purpose 
to  aid  you  in  saving  the  Union.  Whenever  you 
shall  have  conquered  all  resistance  to  the  Union, 
if  I  shall  urge  you  to  continue  fighting,  it  will  be 
an  apt  time  then  for  you  to  declare  you  will  not 
fight  to  free  negroes. 

I  thought  that  in  your  struggle  for  the  Union, 
to  whatever  extent  the  negroes  should  cease  help- 
ing the  enemy,  to  that  extent  it  weakened  the 
enemy  in  his  resistance  to  you.  Do  you  think 
differently?  I  thought  that  whatever  negroes 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  319 

could  be  got  to  do  as  soldiers  leaves  just  so 
much  less  for  white  soldiers  to  do  in  saving  the 
Union.  Does  it  appear  otherwise  to  you?  But 
negroes,  like  other  people,  act  upon  motives. 
Why  should  they  do  anything  for  us,  if  we  will 
do  nothing  for  them?  If  they  stake  their  lives 
for  us,  they  must  be  prompted  by  the  strongest 
motive,  even  the  promise  of  freedom.  And  the 
promise  being  made,  must  be  kept. 

The  signs  look  better.  The  Father  of  Waters 
again  goes  unvexed  to  the  sea.  Thanks  to  the 
great  Northwest  for  it.  Nor  yet  wholly  to  them. 
Three  hundred  miles  up  they  met  New  England, 
Empire,  Keystone,  and  Jersey  hewing  their  way 
right  and  left.  The  sunny  South,  too,  in  more 
colours  than  one,  also  lent  a  hand.  On  the  spot, 
their  part  of  the  history  was  jotted  down  in  black 
and  white.  The  job  was  a  great  national  one, 
and  let  none  be  banned  who  bore  an  honourable 
part  in  it.  And  while  those  who  cleared  the 
great  river  may  well  be  proud,  even  that  is  not 
all.  It  is  hard  to  say  that  anything  has  been 
more  bravely  and  well  done  than  at  Antietam, 
Murfreesboro,  Gettysburg,  and  on  many  fields  of 
lesser  note.  Nor  must  Uncle  Sam's  web-feet  be 
forgotten.  At  all  the  watery  margins  they  have 
been  present.  Not  only  on  the  deep  sea,  the 


320  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

broad  bay,  and  the  rapid  river,  but  also  up  the 
narrow,  muddy  bayou,  and  wherever  the  ground 
was  a  little  damp,  they  have  been  and  made  their 
tracks.  Thanks  to  all,  —  for  the  great  Republic, 
for  the  principle  it  lives  by  and  keeps  alive,  for 
man's  vast  future,  —  thanks  to  all. 

Peace  does  not  appear  so  distant  as  it  did.  I 
hope  it  will  come  soon,  and  come  to  stay ;  and 
so  come  as  to  be  worth  the  keeping  in  all  future 
time.  It  will  then  have  been  proved  that  among 
freemen  there  can  be  no  successful  appeal  from 
the  ballot  to  the  bullet,  and  that  they  who  take 
such  appeal  are  sure  to  lose  their  case  and  pay 
the  cost.  And  then  there  will  be  some  black 
men  who  can  remember  that  with  silent  tongue, 
and  clenched  teeth,  and  steady  eye,  and  well- 
poised  bayonet,  they  have  helped  mankind  on  to 
this  great  consummation,  while  I  fear  there  will 
be  some  white  ones  unable  to  forget  that  with 
malignant  heart  and  deceitful  speech  they  strove 
to  hinder  it. 

Still,  let  us  not  be  over-sanguine  of  a  speedy, 
final  triumph.  Let  us  be  quite  sober.  Let  us 
diligently  apply  the  means,  never  doubting  that 
a  just  God,  in  His  own  good  time,  will  give  us 
the  rightful  result. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  321 

His  PROCLAMATION  FOR  A  DAY  OF  THANKSGIVING. 

October  3,  1863. 

THE  year  that  is  drawing  toward  its  close  has 
been  filled  with  the  blessings  of  fruitful  fields  and 
healthful  skies.  To  these  bounties,  which  are  so 
constantly  enjoyed  that  we  are  prone  to  forget 
the  source  from  which  they  come,  others  have 
been  added,  which  are  of  so  extraordinary  a 
nature  that  they  cannot  fail  to  penetrate  and 
soften  the  heart  which  is  habitually  insensible  to 
the  ever-watchful  providence  of  Almighty  God. 

In  the  midst  of  a  civil  war  of  unequalled  magni- 
tude and  severity,  which  has  sometimes  seemed  to 
foreign  States  to  invite  and  provoke  their  aggres- 
sions, peace  has  been  preserved  with  all  nations, 
order  has  been  maintained,  the  laws  have  been 
respected  and  obeyed,  and  harmony  has  pre- 
vailed everywhere,  except  in  the  theatre  of  mili- 
tary conflict ;  while  that  theatre  has  been  greatly 
contracted  by  the  advancing  armies  and  navies  of 
the  Union. 

Needful  diversions  of  wealth  and  strength  from 
the  fields  of  peaceful  industry  to  the  national  de- 
fence have  not  arrested  the  plough,  the  shuttle,  or 
the  ship  ;  the  axe  has  enlarged  the  borders  of  our 
settlements,  and  the  mines,  as  well  of  iron  and 


322  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

coal  as  of  the  precious  metals,  have  yielded  even 
more  abundantly  than  heretofore.  Population 
has  steadily  increased,  notwithstanding  the  waste 
that  has  been  made  in  the  camp,  the  siege,  and  the 
battle-field  ;  and  the  country,  rejoicing  in  the  con- 
sciousness of  augmented  strength  and  vigour,  is 
permitted  to  expect  continuance  of  years  with 
large  increase  of  freedom. 

No  human  counsel  hath  devised,  nor  hath  any 
mortal  hand  worked  out  these  great  things.  They 
are  the  gracious  gifts  of  the  Most  High  God,  who, 
while  dealing  with  us  in  anger  for  our  sins,  hath 
nevertheless  remembered  mercy. 

It  has  seemed  to  me  fit  and  proper  that  they 
should  be  solemnly,  reverently,  and  gratefully 
acknowledged  as  with  one  heart  and  one  voice 
by  the  whole  American  people.  I  do,  therefore, 
invite  my  fellow-citizens  in  every  part  of  the 
United  States,  and  also  those  who  are  at  sea,  and 
those  sojourning  in  foreign  lands,  to  set  apart 
and  observe  the  last  Thursday  of  November  next 
as  a  day  of  thanksgiving  and  praise  to  our  benefi- 
cent Father  who  dwelleth  in  the  heavens.  And  I 
recommend  to  them  that,  while  offering  up  the 
ascriptions  justly  due  to  Him  for  such  singular 
deliverances  and  blessings,  they  do  also,  with 
humble  penitence  for  our  national  perverseness 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  323 

and  disobedience,  commend  to  his  tender  care 
all  those  who  have  become  widows,  orphans, 
mourners,  or  sufferers  in  the  lamentable  civil  strife 
in  which  we  are  unavoidably  engaged,  and  fer- 
vently implore  the  interposition  of  the  Almighty 
Hand  to  heal  the  wounds  of  the  nation,  and  to 
restore  it,  as  soon  as  may  be  consistent  with  the 
Divine  purposes,  to  the  full  enjoyment  of  peace, 
harmony,  tranquillity,  and  union. 


REMARKS  AT  THE  DEDICATION  OF  THE  NATIONAL 
CEMETERY  AT  GETTYSBURG. 

November  19,  1863. 

[NOTE.  —  Is  the  address  at  Gettysburg,  or  his 
second  inaugural,  the  best  example  of  English 
composition  from  the  pen  of  Abraham  Lincoln? 
Upon  this  question,  critics  may  well  differ.  Mr. 
Lincoln  himself,  in  his  letter  to  Thurlow  Weed, 
of  March  15,  1865,  wrote  that  he  expected  the 
latter  (the  second  inaugural)  to  wear  as  well 
as  —  perhaps  better  than  —  anything  he  had  pro- 
duced. But  he  thought  it  was  not  immediately 
popular,  for  men  are  not  flattered  by  being  shown 
that  there  has  been  a  difference  of  opinion  be- 
tween the  Almighty  and  them. 

Neither  of  these  examples  could  have  been 
written  by  one  who  was  not  a  master  of  English 
composition.  But  there  is  a  dignity,  a  simplicity, 


324  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

and  a  completeness  in  the  address  at  Gettysburg 
which  will  make  it  noted  as  long  as  the  language 
endures.] 

FOURSCORE  and  seven  years  ago  our  fathers 
brought  forth  upon  this  continent  a  new  nation, 
conceived  in  liberty,  and  dedicated  to  the 
proposition  that  all  men  are  created  equal. 

Now  we  are  engaged  in  a  great  civil  war, 
testing  whether  that  nation,  or  any  nation  so 
conceived  and  so  dedicated,  can  long  endure. 
We  are  met  on  a  great  battle-field  of  that  war. 
We  have  come  to  dedicate  a  portion  of  that  field 
as  a  final  resting-place  for  those  who  here  gave 
their  lives  that  that  nation  might  live.  It  is 
altogether  fitting  and  proper  that  we  should  do 
this. 

But  in  a  larger  sense  we  cannot  dedicate,  we 
cannot  consecrate,  we  cannot  hallow  this  ground. 
The  brave  men,  living  and  dead,  who  struggled 
here,  have  consecrated  it  far  above  our  power  to 
add  or  detract.  The  world  will  little  note  nor 
long  remember  what  we  say  here,  but  it  can 
never  forget  what  they  did  here.  It  is  for  us, 
the  living,  rather,  to  be  dedicated  here  to  the 
unfinished  work  which  they  who  fought  here 
have  thus  far  so  nobly  advanced.  It  is  rather 
for  us  to  be  here  dedicated  to  the  great  task 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  325 

remaining  before  us ;  that  from  these  honoured 
dead  we  take  increased  devotion  to  that  cause 
for  which  they  gave  the  last  full  measure  of 
devotion ;  that  we  here  highly  resolve  that  these 
dead  shall  not  have  died  in  vain;  that  this 
nation,  under  God,  shall  have  a  new  birth  of 
freedom ;  and  that  government  of  the  people, 
by  the  people,  and  for  the  people,  shall  not 
perish  from  the  earth. 


FROM  THE  ANNUAL  MESSAGE  TO  CONGRESS. 

December  8,  1863. 

"...  When  Congress  assembled  a  year  ago, 
the  war  had  already  lasted  nearly  twenty  months, 
and  there  had  been  many  conflicts  on  both  land 
and  sea,  with  varying  results.  The  rebellion  had 
been  pressed  back  into  reduced  limits ;  yet  the 
tone  of  public  feeling  and  opinion  at  home  and 
abroad  was  not  satisfactory.  With  other  signs, 
the  popular  elections  then  just  past  indicated 
uneasiness  among  ourselves ;  while,  amid  much 
that  was  cold  and  menacing,  the  kindest  words 
coming  from  Europe  were  uttered  in  accents  of 
pity  that  we  were  too  blind  to  surrender  a  hope- 
less cause.  Our  commerce  was  suffering  greatly 


326  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

from  a  few  vessels  built  upon  and  furnished  from 
foreign  shores,  and  we  were  threatened  with  such 
additions  from  the  same  quarter  as  would  sweep 
our  trade  from  the  seas  and  raise  our  blockade. 
We  had  failed  to  elicit  from  European  govern- 
ments anything  hopeful  upon  this  subject.  The 
preliminary  Emancipation  Proclamation,  issued  in 
September,  was  running  its  assigned  period  to  the 
beginning  of  the  new  year.  A  month  later  the 
final  proclamation  came,  including  the  announce- 
ment that  coloured  men  of  suitable  condition 
would  be  received  into  the  war  service.  The 
policy  of  emancipation  and  of  employing  black 
soldiers  gave  to  the  future  a  new  aspect,  about 
which  hope  and  fear  and  doubt  contended  in  un- 
certain conflict.  According  to  our  political  system, 
as  a  matter  of  civil  administration,  the  general 
government  had  no  lawful  power  to  effect  eman- 
cipation in  any  State,  and  for  a  long  time  it  had 
been  hoped  that  the  rebellion  could  be  suppressed 
without  resorting  to  it  as  a  military  measure.  It 
was  all  the  while  deemed  possible  that  the  neces- 
sity for  it  might  come,  and  that,  if  it  should,  the 
crisis  of  the  contest  would  then  be  presented. 
It  came,  and,  as  was  anticipated,  was  followed 
by  dark  and  doubtful  days.  Eleven  months  hav- 
ing now  passed,  we  are  permitted  to  take  another 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  327 

review.  The  rebel  borders  are  pressed  still  far- 
ther back,  and  by  the  complete  opening  of  the 
Mississippi,  the  country  dominated  by  the  rebel- 
lion is  divided  into  distinct  parts,  with  no  prac- 
tical communication  between  them.  Tennessee 
and  Arkansas  have  been  substantially  cleared  of 
insurgent  control,  and  influential  citizens  in  each, 
owners  of  slaves  and  advocates  of  slavery  at  the 
beginning  of  the  rebellion,  now  declare  openly 
for  emancipation  in  their  respective  States.  Of 
those  States  not  included  in  the  Emancipation 
Proclamation,  Maryland  and  Missouri,  neither  of 
which  three  years  ago  would  tolerate  any  restraint 
upon  the  extension  of  slavery  into  new  Territories, 
only  dispute  now  as  to  the  best  mode  of  removing 
it  within  their  own  limits. 

"  Of  those  who  were  slaves  at  the  beginning  of 
the  rebellion,  full  one  hundred  thousand  are  now 
in  the  United  States  military  service,  about  one 
half  of  which  number  actually  bear  arms  in  the 
ranks  ;  thus  giving  the  double  advantage  of  taking 
so  much  labour  from  the  insurgent  cause  and  sup- 
plying the  places  which  otherwise  must  be  filled 
with  so  many  white  men.  So  far  as  tested,  it  is 
difficult  to  say  they  are  not  as  good  soldiers  as 
any.  No  servile  insurrection  or  tendency  to  vio- 
lence or  cruelty  has  marked  the  measures  of  eman- 


328  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

cipation  and  arming  the  blacks.  These  mea- 
sures have  been  much  discussed  in  foreign  coun- 
tries, and  contemporary  with  such  discussion  the 
tone  of  public  sentiment  there  is  much  improved. 
At  home  the  same  measures  have  been  fully  dis- 
cussed, supported,  criticised,  and  denounced,  and 
the  annual  elections  following  are  highly  encour- 
aging to  those  whose  official  duty  it  is  to  bear  the 
country  through  this  great  trial.  Thus  we  have 
the  new  reckoning.  The  crisis  which  threatened 
to  divide  the  friends  of  the  Union  is  passed. 

"...  In  the  midst  of  other  cares,  however 
important,  we  must  not  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that 
the  war  power  is  still  our  main  reliance.  To  that 
power  alone  can  we  look,  yet,  for  a  time,  to  give 
confidence  to  the  people  in  the  contested  regions 
that  the  insurgent  power  will  not  again  overrun 
them.  Until  that  confidence  shall  be  established, 
little  can  be  done  anywhere  for  what  is  called 
reconstruction.  Hence,  our  chiefest  care  must 
still  be  directed  to  the  army  and  navy,  which 
have  thus  far  borne  their  harder  part  so  nobly 
and  well.  And  it  may  be  esteemed  fortunate 
that  in  giving  the  greatest  efficiency  to  these  in- 
dispensable arms,  we  do  also  honourably  recog- 
nise the  gallant  men,  from  commander  to  sentinel, 
who  compose  them,  and  to  whom,  more  than 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  329 

others,  the  world  must  stand  indebted  for  the 
home  of  freedom,  disenthralled,  regenerated, 
enlarged,  and  perpetuated." 


CLOSING  ADDRESS  OF  THE  FAIR  FOR  THE 
SANITARY  COMMISSION. 

March  18,  1864. 

I  APPEAR  to  say  but  a  word.  This  extraordinary 
war  in  which  we  are  engaged  falls  heavily  upon  all 
classes  of  people,  but  the  most  heavily  upon  the 
soldier.  For  it  has  been  said  "  all  that  a  man 
hath  will  he  give  for  his  life ;  "  and  while  all  con- 
tribute of  their  substance,  the  soldier  puts  his  life 
at  stake,  and  often  yields  it  up  in  his  country's 
cause.  The  highest  merit,  then,  is  due  to  the 
soldier. 

In  this  extraordinary  war  extraordinary  devel- 
opments have  manifested  themselves,  such  as 
have  not  been  seen  in  former  wars ;  and  amongst 
these  manifestations  nothing  has  been  more  re- 
markable than  these  fairs  for  the  relief  of  suffer- 
ing soldiers  and  their  families.  And  the  chief 
agents  in  these  fairs  are  the  women  of  America. 

I  am  not  accustomed  to  the  language  of  eulogy. 
I  have  never  studied  the  art  of  paying  compli- 


330  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

ments  to  women.  But  I  must  say,  that  if  all  that 
has  been  said  by  orators  and  poets  since  the 
creation  of  the  world  in  praise  of  women  were 
applied  to  the  women  of  America,  it  would  not 
do  them  justice  for  their  conduct  during  this 
war.  I  will  close  by  saying,  God  bless  the  women 
of  America ! 


LETTER  TO  A.  G.  HODGES  OF  KENTUCKY. 

April  4,  1864. 

I  AM  naturally  anti-slavery.  If  slavery  is  not 
wrong,  nothing  is  wrong.  I  cannot  remember 
when  I  did  not  so  think  and  feel,  and  yet  I  have 
never  understood  that  the  Presidency  conferred 
upon  me  an  unrestricted  right  to  act  officially 
upon  this  judgment  and  feeling.  It  was  in  the 
oath  that  I  took,  that  I  would,  to  the  best  of  my 
ability,  preserve,  protect,  and  defend  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  United  States.  I  could  not  take 
office  without  taking  the  oath.  Nor  was  it  my 
view  that  I  might  take  an  oath  to  get  power,  and 
break  the  oath  in  using  the  power.  I  understood, 
too,  that  in  ordinary  civil  administration  this  oath 
even  forbade  me  to  practically  indulge  my  primary 
abstract  judgment  on  the  moral  question  of  slav- 
ery. I  had  publicly  declared  this  many  times 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  331 

and  in  many  ways.  And  I  aver  that,  to  this  day, 
I  have  done  no  official  act  in  mere  deference  to  my 
abstract  feeling  and  judgment  on  slavery.  I  did 
understand,  however,  that  my  oath  to  preserve 
the  Constitution  to  the  best  of  my  ability  im- 
posed upon  me  the  duty  of  preserving,  by  every 
indispensable  means,  that  government  —  that 
nation  —  of  which  that  Constitution  was  the 
organic  law.  Was  it  possible  to  lose  the  nation 
and  yet  preserve  the  Constitution?  By  general 
law,  life  and  limb  must  be  protected,  yet  often  a 
limb  must  be  amputated  to  save  a  life ;  but  a  life 
is  never  wisely  given  to  save  a  limb.  I  felt  that 
measures,  otherwise  unconstitutional,  might  be- 
come lawful  by  becoming  indispensable  to  the 
preservation  of  the  Constitution  through  the 
preservation  of  the  nation.  Right  or  wrong,  I 
assumed  this  ground,  and  now  avow  it.  I  could 
not  feel  that,  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  I  had 
even  tried  to  preserve  the  Constitution,  if,  to  save 
slavery  or  any  minor  matter,  I  should  permit  the 
wreck  of  government,  country,  and  Constitution, 
all  together.  When,  early  in  the  war,  General 
Fremont  attempted  military  emancipation,  I  for- 
bade it,  because  I  did  not  then  think  it  an  indis- 
pensable necessity.  When,  a  little  later,  General 
Cameron,  then  Secretary  of  War,  suggested  the 


332  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

arming  of  the  blacks,  I  objected,  because  1 
did  not  think  it  an  indispensable  necessity. 
When,  still  later,  General  Hunter  attempted 
military  emancipation,  I  again  forbade  it,  because 
I  did  not  yet  think  the  indispensable  necessity 
had  come.  When,  in  March  and  May  and  July, 
1862,  I  made  earnest  and  successive  appeals  to 
the  border  States  to  favour  compensated  emanci- 
pation, I  believed  the  indispensable  necessity  for 
military  emancipation  and  arming  the  blacks 
would  come,  unless  averted  by  that  measure. 
They  declined  the  proposition,  and  I  was,  in  my 
best  judgment,  driven  to  the  alternative  of  either 
surrendering  the  Union,  and  with  it  the  Consti- 
tution, or  laying  strong  hand  upon  the  coloured 
element.  I  chose  the  latter.  In  choosing  it,  I 
hoped  for  greater  gain  than  loss ;  but  of  this  I 
was  not  entirely  confident.  More  than  a  year  of 
trial  now  shows  no  loss  by  it  in  our  foreign  rela- 
tions, none  in  our  home  popular  sentiment,  none  in 
our  white  military  force,  —  no  loss  by  it  anyhow  or 
anywhere.  On  the  contrary,  it  shows  a  gain  of 
quite  one  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  soldiers, 
seamen,  and  labourers.  These  are  palpable  facts, 
about  which,  as  facts,  there  can  be  no  cavilling. 
We  have  the  men,  and  we  could  not  have  had 
them  without  the  measure. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  333 

And  now  let  any  Union  man  who  complains  of 
the  measure,  test  himself  by  writing  down  in  one 
line  that  he  is  for  subduing  the  rebellion  by  force 
of  arms ;  and  in  the  next,  that  he  is  for  taking 
these  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  men  from  the 
Union  side,  and  placing  them  where  they  would 
be  but  for  the  measure  he  condemns.  If  he  can- 
not face  his  case  so  stated,  it  is  only  because  he 
cannot  face  the  truth. 

I  add  a  word  which  was  not  in  the  verbal  con- 
versation. In  telling  this  tale,  I  attempt  no  com- 
pliment to  my  own  sagacity.  I  claim  not  to 
have  controlled  events,  but  confess  plainly  that 
events  have  controlled  me.  Now,  at  the  end  of 
three  years'  struggle,  the  nation's  condition  is  not 
what  either  party,  or  any  man,  devised  or  ex- 
pected. God  alone  can  claim  it.  Whither  it  is 
tending  seems  plain.  If  God  now  wills  the 
removal  of  a  great  wrong,  and  wills  also  that  we 
of  the  North,  as  well  as  you  of  the  South,  shall 
pay  fairly  for  our  complicity  in  that  wrong,  im- 
partial history  will  find  therein  new  cause  to 
attest  and  revere  the  justice  and  goodness  of 
God. 


334  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


His  ADDRESS  AT  THE  SANITARY  FAIR  IN 
BALTIMORE. 

April  18,  1864. 

CALLING  to  mind  that  we  are  in  Baltimore,  we 
cannot  fail  to  note  that  the  world  moves.  Look- 
ing upon  these  many  people,  assembled  here  to 
serve,  as  they  best  may,  the  soldiers  of  the  Union, 
it  occurs  at  once  that  three  years  ago  the  same 
soldiers  could  not  so  much  as  pass  through  Balti- 
more. The  change  from  then  till  now  is  both 
great  and  gratifying.  Blessings  on  the  brave 
men  who  have  wrought  the  change,  and  the  fair 
women  who  strive  to  reward  them  for  it ! 

But  Baltimore  suggests  more  than  could  hap- 
pe'n  within  Baltimore.  The  change  within  Balti- 
more is  part,  only,  of  a  far  wider  change.  When 
the  war  begun,  three  years  ago,  neither  party  nor 
any  man  expected  it  would  last  till  now.  Each 
looked  for  the  end,  in  some  way,  long  ere  to-day. 
Neither  did  any  anticipate  that  domestic  slavery 
would  be  much  affected  by  the  war.  But  here 
we  are  :  the  war  has  not  ended,  and  slavery  has 
been  much  affected  —  how  much,  needs  not  now 
be  recounted.  So  true  is  it  that  man  proposes, 
and  God  disposes. 

But  we  can  see  the  past,  though  we  may  not 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  335 

claim  to  have  directed  it ;  and  seeing  it,  in  this 
case,  we  feel  more  hopeful  and  confident  for  the 
future. 

The  world  has  never  had  a  good  definition  of 
the  word  "liberty,"  and  the  American  people,  just 
now,  are  much  in  want  of  one.  We  all  declare 
for  liberty ;  but  in  using  the  same  word,  we  do 
not  all  mean  the  same  thing.  With  some,  the 
word  "liberty"  may  mean  for  each  man  to  do  as 
he  pleases  with  himself  and  the  product  of  his 
labour;  while  with  others,  the  same  word  may 
mean  for  some  men  to  do  as  they  please  with 
other  men  and  the  product  of  other  men's  labour. 
Here  are  two,  not  only  different,  but  incompati- 
ble things,  called  by  the  same  name,  —  liberty. 
And  it  follows  that  each  of  the  things  is,  by  the 
respective  parties,  called  by  two  different  and 
incompatible  names,  —  liberty  and  tyranny. 

The  shepherd  drives  the  wolf  from  the  sheep's 
throat,  for  which  the  sheep  thanks  the  shepherd 
as  his  liberator,  while  the  wolf  denounces  him 
for  the  same  act  as  the  destroyer  of  liberty, 
especially  as  the  sheep  was  a  black  one.  Plainly, 
the  sheep  and  the  wolf  are  not  agreed  upon  a 
definition  of  the  word  "  liberty ; "  and  precisely  the 
same  difference  prevails  to-day,  among  us  human 
creatures,  even  in  the  North,  and  all  professing 


336  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

to  love  liberty.  Hence  we  behold  the  process  by 
which  thousands  are  daily  passing  from  under  the 
yoke  of  bondage  hailed  by  some  as  the  advance  of 
liberty,  and  bewailed  by  others  as  the  destruction 
of  'all  liberty.  Recently,  as  it  seems,  the  people 
of  Maryland  have  been  doing  something  to  de- 
fine liberty,  and  thanks  to  them  that,  in  what 
they  have  done,  the  wolfs  dictionary  has  been 
repudiated. 

It  is  not  very  becoming  for  one  in  my  position 
to  make  speeches  at  great  length,  but  there  is 
another  subject  upon  which  I  feel  that  I  ought  to 
say  a  word. 

A  painful  rumour  —  true,  I  fear  —  has  reached 
us  of  the  massacre  by  the  rebel  forces  at  Fort 
Pillow,  in  the  west  end  of  Tennessee,  on  the 
Mississippi  River,  of  some  three  hundred  coloured 
soldiers  and  white  officers,  who  had  just  been 
overpowered  by  their  assailants.  There  seems 
to  be  some  anxiety  in  the  public  mind  whether 
the  government  is  doing  its  duty  to  the  coloured 
soldier,  and  to  the  service  at  this  point.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  war,  and  for  some  time,  the  use 
of  coloured  troops  was  not  contemplated ;  and 
how  the  change  of  purpose  was  wrought,  I  will 
not  now  take  time  to  explain.  Upon  a  clear  con- 
viction of  duty,  I  resolved  to  turn  that  element  of 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  337 

strength  to  account ;  and  I  am  responsible  for  it 
to  the  American  people,  to  the  Christian  world, 
to  history,  and,  in  my  final  account,  to  God. 
Having  determined  to  use  the  negro  as  a  soldier, 
there  is  no  way  but  to  give  him  all  the  protection 
given  to  any  other  soldier.  The  difficulty  is  not 
in  stating  the  principle,  but  in  practically  apply- 
ing it.  It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  the  govern- 
ment is  indifferent  to  this  matter,  or  is  not  doing 
the  best  it  can  in  regard  to  it.  We  do  not  to- 
day know  that  a  coloured  soldier,  or  white  officer 
commanding  coloured  soldiers,  has  been  massacred 
by  the  rebels  when  made  a  prisoner.  We  fear  it 
—  believe  it,  I  may  say — but  we  do  not  know 
it.  To  take  the  life  of  one  of  their  prisoners  on 
the  assumption  that  they  murder  ours,  when  it  is 
short  pf  certainty  that  they  do  murder  ours,  might 
be  too  serious,  too  cruel,  a  mistake.  We  are  hav- 
ing the  Fort  Pillow  affair  thoroughly  investigated ; 
and  such  investigation  will  probably  show  conclu- 
sively how  the  truth  is.  If  after  all  that  has  been 
said,  it  shall  turn  out  that  there  has  been  no  mas- 
sacre at  Fort  Pillow,  it  will  be  almost  safe  to  say 
that  there  has  been  none,  and  will  be  none,  else- 
where. If  there  has  been  the  massacre  of  three 
hundred  there,  or  even  the  tenth  part  of  three 
hundred,  it  will  be  conclusively  proved;  and 


338  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

being  so  proved,  the  retribution  shall  as  surely 
come.  It  will  be  matter  of  grave  consideration 
in  what  exact  course  to  apply  the  retribution ;  but 
in  the  case  supposed,  it  must  come. 


His  LETTER  TO  GENERAL  GRANT. 

April  30,  1864. 

NOT  expecting  to  see  you  again  before  the 
spring  campaign  opens,  I  wish  to  express  in  this 
way  my  entire  satisfaction  with  what  you  have 
done  up  to  this  time,  so  far  as  I  understand  it. 
The  particulars  of  your  plans  I  neither  know  nor 
seek  to  know.  You  are  vigilant  and  self-reliant ; 
and,  pleased  with  this,  I  wish  not  to  obtrude  any 
constraints  nor  restraints  upon  you.  While  I  am 
very  anxious  that  any  great  disaster  or  capture  of 
our  men  in  great  numbers  shall  be  avoided,  I 
know  these  points  are  less  likely  to  escape  your 
attention  than  they  would  be  mine.  If  there  is 
anything  wanting  which  is  within  my  power  to 
give,  do  not  fail  to  let  me  know  it.  And  now, 
with  a  brave  army  and  a  just  cause,  may  God 
sustain  you. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  339 

His  ANSWER  TO  A  METHODIST  DELEGATION. 

May  14,  1864. 

GENTLEMEN,  —  In  response  to  your  address, 
allow  me  to  attest  the  accuracy  of  its  historical 
statements,  indorse  the  sentiments  it  expresses, 
and  thank  you  in  the  nation's  name  for  the  sure 
promise  it  gives. 

Nobly  sustained  as  the  government  has  been 
by  all  the  churches,  I  would  utter  nothing  that 
might  seem  invidious  against  any.  Yet  without 
this  it  may  fairly  be  said  that  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  not  less  devoted  than  the  best, 
is  by  its  greater  number  the  most  important  of 
all.  It  is  no  fault  in  others  that  the  Methodist 
Church  sends  more  soldiers  to  the  field,  more 
nurses  to  the  hospital,  and  more  prayers  to 
Heaven  than  any.  Bless  all  the  churches;  and 
blessed  be  God  who,  in  this  our  great  trial,  giveth 
us  the  churches. 


340  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

REPLY  TO  A  DELEGATION  FROM  THE  UNION 
LEAGUE  AFTER  HIS  RENOMINATION. 

June  9,  1864. 

I  CAN  only  say  in  response  to  the  kind  remarks 
of  your  chairman,  that  I  am  very  grateful  for  the 
renewed  confidence  which  has  been  accorded  to 
me,  both  by  the  convention  and  by  the  National 
League.  I  am  not  insensible  at  all  to  the  per- 
sonal compliment  there  is  in  this,  and  yet  I  do 
not  allow  myself  to  believe  that  any  but  a  small 
portion  of  it  is  to  be  appropriated  as  a  personal 
compliment  to  me.  The  convention  and  the 
nation,  I  am  assured,  are  alike  animated  by  a 
higher  view  of  the  interests  of  the  country  for  the 
present  and  the  great  future ;  and  the  part  I  am 
entitled  to  appropriate  as  a  compliment  is  only 
that  part  which  I  may  lay  hold  of  as  being  the 
opinion  of  the  convention  and  of  the  League, 
that  I  am  not  entirely  unworthy  to  be  entrusted 
with  the  place  which  I  have  occupied  for  the  last 
three  years.  I  have  not  permitted  myself  to  con- 
clude that  I  am  the  best  man  in  America ;  but  I 
am  reminded  in  this  connection  of  a  story  of  an 
old  Dutch  farmer  who  remarked  to  a  companion 
that  "  it  is  not  best  to  swap  horses  while  crossing 
the  stream." 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  341 

FROM  HIS  ADDRESS  AT  A  FAIR  OF  THE  SANITARY 
COMMISSION  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 

June  1 6,  1864. 

"...  Yet  the  war  continues,  and  several  re- 
lieving coincidents  have  accompanied  it  from  the 
beginning,  which  have  not  been  known,  as  I 
understand  or  have  any  knowledge  of,  in  any 
former  wars  in  the  history  of  the  world.  The 
Sanitary  Commission  with  all  its  benevolent 
labours;  the  Christian  Commission  with  all  its 
Christian  and  benevolent  labours ;  and  the  various 
places,  arrangements,  and  institutions  have  con- 
tributed to  the  comfort  and  relief  of  the  soldiers. 
.  .  .  The  motive  and  object  that  lie  at  the  bot- 
tom of  all  these  are  most  worthy ;  for,  say  what 
you  will,  after  all,  the  most  is  due  to  the  soldier 
who  takes  his  life  in  his  hands  and  goes  to  fight 
the  battles  of  his  country.  .  .  . 

"  It  is  a  pertinent  question,  often  asked  in  the 
mind  privately,  and  from  one  to  the  other,  when 
is  this  war  to  end?  Surely  I  feel  as  deep  an 
interest  in  this  question  as  any  other  can ;  but  I 
do  not  wish  to  name  a  day,  a  month,  or  a  year 
when  it  is  to  end.  I  do  not  wish  to  run  any  risk 
of  seeing  the  time  come  without  our  being  ready 
for  the  end,  for  fear  of  disappointment  because  the 


342  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

time  had  come  and  not  the  end.  We  accepted 
this  war  for  an  object,  a  worthy  object,  and  the 
war  will  end  when  that  object  is  attained.  Under 
God,  I  hope  it  never  will  end  until  that  time. 
Speaking  of  the  present  campaign,  General  Grant 
is  reported  to  have  said,  "  I  am  going  through 
on  this  line  if  it  takes  all  summer."  This  war 
has  taken  three  years ;  it  was  begun  or  accepted 
upon  the  line  of  restoring  the  national  authority 
over  the  whole  national  domain;  and  for  the 
American  people,  as  far  as  my  knowledge  enables 
me  to  speak,  I  say  we  are  going  through  on  this 
line  if  it  takes  three  years  more  ! 

"  My  friends,  I  did  not  know  but  that  I  might 
be  called  upon  to  say  a  few  words  before  I  got 
away  from  here,  but  I  did  not  know  it  was 
coming  just  here.  I  have  never  been  in  the 
habit  of  making  predictions  in  regard  to  the  war, 
but  I  am  almost  tempted  to  make  one.  If  I 
were  to  hazard  it,  it  is  this  :  that  Grant  is  this 
evening,  with  General  Meade  and  General  Han- 
cock and  the  brave  officers  and  soldiers  with 
him,  in  a  position  from  whence  he  will  never  be 
dislodged  until  Richmond  is  taken ;  and  I  have 
but  one  single  proposition  to  put  now,  and  per- 
haps I  can  best  put  it  in  the  form  of  an  interrog- 
ative. If  I  shall  discover  that  General  Grant  and 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  343 

the  noble  officers  and  men  under  him  can  be 
greatly  facilitated  in  their  work  by  a  sudden  pour- 
ing forward  of  men  and  assistance,  will  you  give 
them  to  me?  Are  you  ready  to  march?  [Cries 
of,  Yes  !]  Then  I  say,  stand  ready,  for  I  am 
watching  for  the  chance." 


REMARKS  TO  THE  i64th  OHIO  REGIMENT. 

August  1 8,  1864. 

"...  There  is  more  involved  in  this  contest 
than  is  realised  by  every  one.  There  is  involved 
in  this  struggle  the  question  whether  your  chil- 
dren and  my  children  shall  enjoy  the  privileges 
we  have  enjoyed.  I  say  this  in  order  to  impress 
upon  you,  if  you  are  not  already  so  impressed, 
that  no  small  matter  should  divert  us  from  our 
great  purpose. 

"  There  may  be  some  inequalities  in  the  practi- 
cal application  of  our  system.  It  is  fair  that  each 
man  shall  pay  taxes  in  exact  proportion  to  the 
value  of  his  property ;  but  if  we  should  wait, 
before  collecting  a  tax,  to  adjust  the  taxes  upon 
each  man  in  exact  proportion  with  every  other 
man,  we  should  never  collect  any  tax  at  all. 
There  may  be  mistakes  made  sometimes ;  things 
may  be  done  wrong,  while  the  officers  of  the 


344  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

government  do  all  they  can  to  prevent  mistakes. 
But  I  beg  of  you  as  citizens  of  this  great  Repub- 
lic, not  to  let  your  minds  be  carried  off  from  this 
great  work  we  have  before  us.  This  struggle  is 
too  large  for  you  to  be  diverted  from  it  by  any 
small  matter.  When  you  return  to  your  homes, 
rise  up  to  the  height  of  a  generation  of  men 
worthy  of  a  free  government,  and  we  will  carry 
out  the  great  work  we  have  commenced." 


His  LETTER  TO  MRS.  ELIZA  P.  GURNEY. 

September  4,  1864. 

MY  ESTEEMED  FRIEND,  —  T  have  not  forgot- 
ten  —  probably  never  shall  forget  —  the  very  im- 
pressive occasion  when  yourself  and  friends 
visited  me  on  a  Sabbath  forenoon,  two  years  ago. 
Nor  has  your  kind  letter,  written  nearly  a  year 
later,  ever  been  forgotten.  In  all,  it  has  been 
your  purpose  to  strengthen  my  reliance  on  God. 
I  am  much  indebted  to  the  good  Christian  people 
of  the  country  for  their  constant  prayers  and  con- 
solations ;  and  to  no  one  of  them  more  than  to 
yourself.  The  purposes  of  the  Almighty  are  per- 
fect, and  must  prevail,  though  we  erring  mortals 
may  fail  to  accurately  perceive  them  in  advance. 
We  hoped  for  a  happy  termination  of  this  terrible 

* 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  345 

war  long  before  this ;  but  God  knows  best,  and 
has  ruled  otherwise.  We  shall  yet  acknowledge 
His  wisdom  and  our  own  error  therein.  Mean- 
while we  must  work  earnestly,  in  the  best  lights 
He  gives  us,  trusting  that  so  working  still  con- 
duces to  the  great  ends  He  ordains.  Surely  He 
intends  some  great  good  to  follow  this  mighty 
convulsion,  which  no  mortal  could  make,  and  no 
mortal  could  stay.  Your  people,  the  Friends, 
have  had  and  are  having  a  very  great  trial.  On 
principle  and  faith  opposed  to  both  war  and  op- 
pression, they  can  only  practically  oppose  oppres- 
sion by  war.  In  this  hard  dilemma,  some  have 
chosen  one  horn,  and  some  the  other.  For  those 
appealing  to  me  on  conscientious  grounds,  I  have 
done  and  shall  do  the  best  I  could  and  can,  in 
my  own  conscience,  under  my  oath  to  the  law. 
That  you  believe  this,  I  doubt  not ;  and  believing 
it,  I  shall  still  receive  for  our  country  and  myself 
your  earnest  prayers  to  Our  Father  in  Heaven. 


346  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


To  THE  COLOURED  MEN  OF  BALTIMORE  FOR  A 
PRESENT  OF  THE   BIBLE. 

September  7,  1864. 

"...  I  can  only  now  say,  as  I  have  often  before 
said,  it  has  always  been  a  sentiment  with  me 
that  all  mankind  should  be  free.  So  far  as  able, 
within  my  sphere,  I  have  always  acted  as  I  be- 
lieve to  be  right  and  just ;  and  I  have  done  all  I 
could  for  the  good  of  mankind,  generally.  In 
letters  and  documents  sent  from  this  office,  I 
have  expressed  myself  better  than  I  now  can. 
In  regard  to  this  Great  Book,  I  have  but  to  say 
it  is  the  best  gift  God  has  given  to  man. 

"  All  the  good  the  Saviour  gave  to  the  world 
was  communicated  through  this  Book.  But  for 
it,  we  could  not  know  right  from  wrong.  All 
things  most  desirable  for  man's  welfare,  here  and 
hereafter,  are  to  be  found  portrayed  in  it.  To 
you  I  return  my  most  sincere  thanks  for  the  very 
elegant  copy  of  the  great  Book  of  God  which  you 
present." 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  347 


His  REPLY  TO  A  SERENADE. 

October  19,  1864. 

I  AM  notified  that  this  is  a  compliment  paid 
me  by  the  loyal  Marylanders  resident  in  this  Dis- 
trict. I  infer  that  the  adoption  of  the  new  con- 
stitution for  the  State  furnishes  the  occasion,  and 
that,  in  your  view,  the  extirpation  of  slavery  con- 
stitutes the  chief  merit  of  the  new  constitution. 
Most  heartily  do  I  congratulate  you  and  Mary- 
land, and  the  nation  and  the  world,  upon  this 
event.  I  regret  that  it  did  not  occur  two  years 
sooner,  which,  I  am  sure,  would  have  saved  the 
nation  more  money  than  would  have  met  all  the 
private  loss  incident  to  the  measure ;  but  it  has 
come  at  last,  and  I  sincerely  hope  its  friends 
may  fully  realise  all  their  anticipations  of  good 
from  it,  and  that  its  opponents  may  by  its  effects 
be  agreeably  and  profitably  disappointed. 

A  word  upon  another  subject.  Something 
said  by  the  Secretary  of  State,  in  his  recent 
speech  at  Auburn,  has  been  construed  by  some 
into  a  threat  that  if  I  shall  be  beaten  at  the  elec- 
tion, I  will,  between  then  and  the  end  of  my  con- 
stitutional term,  do  what  I  may  be  able  to  ruin 
the  government.  Others  regard  the  fact  that 


348  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

the  Chicago  Convention  adjourned,  not  sine  die, 
but  to  meet  again,  if  called  to  do  so  by  a  partic- 
ular individual,  as  the  intimation  of  a  purpose 
that  if  their  nominee  shall  be  elected,  he  will  at 
once  seize  the  control  of  the  government.  I 
hope  the  good  people  will  permit  themselves  to 
suffer  no  uneasiness  on  either  point. 

I  am  struggling  to  maintain  the  government, 
not  to  overthrow  it.  I  am  struggling,  especially, 
to  prevent  others  from  overthrowing  it.  I  there- 
fore say,  that  if  I  shall  live,  I  shall  remain  Presi- 
dent until  the  4th  of  next  March;  and  that 
whoever  shall  be  constitutionally  elected  therefor 
in  November,  shall  be  duly  installed  as  President 
on  the  4th  of  March ;  and  that,  in  the  interval,  I 
shall  do  my  utmost  that  whoever  is  to  hold  the 
helm  for  the  next  voyage  shall  start  with  the 
best  possible  chance  to  save  the  ship. 

This  is  due  to  the  people,  both  on  principle 
and  under  the  Constitution.  Their  will,  constitu- 
tionally expressed,  is  the  ultimate  law  for  all.  If 
they  should  deliberately  resolve  to  have  immedi- 
ate peace,  even  at  the  loss  of  their  country  and 
their  liberty,  I  know  not  the  power  or  the  right 
to  resist  them.  It  is  their  own  business,  and  they 
must  do  as  they  please  with  their  own.  I  be- 
lieve, however,  they  are  still  resolved  to  preserve 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  349 

their  country  and  their  liberty;  and  in  this,  in 
office  or  out  of  it,  I  am  resolved  to  stand  by 
them. 

I  may  add  that  in  this  purpose  —  to  save  the 
country  and  its  liberties  —  no  classes  of  people 
seem  so  nearly  unanimous  as  the  soldiers  in  the 
field  and  the  sailors  afloat.  Do  they  not  have 
the  hardest  of  it  ?  Who  should  quail  when  they 
do  not?  God  bless  the  soldiers  and  seamen, 
with  all  their  brave  commanders. 


His  REPLY  TO  A  SERENADE  WHEN  HIS  RE- 
ELECTION WAS  CERTAIN. 

November  10,  1864. 

IT  has  long  been  a  grave  question  whether  any 
government  not  too  strong  for  the  liberties  of  its 
people,  can  be  strong  enough  to  maintain  its 
existence  in  great  emergencies.  On  this  point 
the  present  rebellion  brought  our  Republic  to  a 
severe  test ;  and  a  presidential  election,  occurring 
in  regular  course  during  the  rebellion,  added  not 
a  little  to  the  strain. 

If  the  loyal  people  united  were  put  to  the  ut- 
most of  their  strength  by  the  rebellion,  must  they 
not  fail  when  divided  and  partially  paralysed  by 
a  political  war  among  themselves?  But  the  elec- 


350  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

tion  was  a  necessity.  We  cannot  have  free  gov- 
ernment without  elections ;  and  if  the  rebellion 
could  force  us  to  forego  or  postpone  a  national 
election,  it  might  fairly  claim  to  have  already 
conquered  and  ruined  us.  The  strife  of  the 
election  is  but  human  nature  practically  applied 
to  the  facts  of  the  case.  What  has  occurred  in 
this  case  must  ever  occur  in  similar  cases. 
Human  nature  will  not  change.  In  any  future 
great  national  trial,  compared  with  the  men  of 
this,  we  shall  have  as  weak  and  as  strong,  as  silly 
and  as  wise,  as  bad  and  as  good.  Let  us,  there- 
fore, study  the  incidents  of  this  as  philosophy  to 
learn  wisdom  from,  and  none  of  them  as  wrongs 
to  be  revenged.  But  the  election,  along  with  its 
incidental  and  undesirable  strife,  has  done  good, 
too.  It  has  demonstrated  that  a  people's  gov- 
ernment can  sustain  a  national  election  in  the 
midst  of  a  great  civil  war.  Until  now,  it  has  not 
been  known  to  the  world  that  this  was  a  possi- 
bility. It  shows  also  how  sound  and  how  strong 
we  still  are.  It  shows  that,  even  among  candi- 
dates of  the  same  party,  he  who  is  most  devoted 
to  the  Union  and  most  opposed  to  treason  can 
receive  most  of  the  people's  votes.  It  shows 
also,  to  the  extent  yet  known,  that  we  have  more 
men  now  than  we  had  when  the  war  began. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  351 

Gold  is  good  in  its  place,  but  living,  brave,  pa- 
triotic men  are  better  than  gold. 

But  the  rebellion  continues ;  and  now  that  the 
election  is  over,  may  not  all  having  a  common 
interest  reunite  in  a  common  effort  to  save  our 
common  country?  For  my  own  part,  I  have 
striven  and  shall  strive  to  avoid  placing  any 
obstacle  in  the  way.  So  long  as  I  have  been 
here,  I  have  not  willingly  planted  a  thorn  in  any 
man's  bosom.  While  I  am  deeply  sensible  to 
the  high  compliment  of  a  re-election,  and  duly 
grateful  as  I  trust  to  Almighty  God  for  having 
directed  my  countrymen  to  a  right  conclusion,  as 
I  think,  for  their  own  good,  it  adds  nothing  to 
my  satisfaction  that  any  other  man  may  be  dis- 
appointed or  pained  by  the  result. 

May  I  ask  those  who  have  not  differed  with 
me,  to  join  with  me  in  this  same  spirit  towards 
those  who  have  ?  And  now  let  me  close  by  ask- 
ing three  hearty  cheers  for  our  brave  soldiers  and 
seamen,  and  their  gallant  and  skilful  commanders. 


352  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

His  LETTER  TO  MRS.  BIXBY. 

November  21,  1864. 

DEAR  MADAM,  —  I  have  been  shown  in  the 
files  of  the  War  Department  a  statement  of  the 
Adjutant  General  of  Massachusetts,  that  you  are 
the  mother  of  five  sons  who  have  died  gloriously 
on  the  field  of  battle.  I  feel  how  weak  and  fruit- 
less must  be  any  words  of  mine  which  should 
attempt  to  beguile  you  from  a  loss  so  overwhelm- 
ing. But  I  cannot  refrain  from  tendering  to  you 
the  consolation  that  may  be  found  in  the  thanks 
of  the  Republic  they  died  to  save.  I  pray  that 
our  Heavenly  Father  may  assuage  the  anguish  of 
your  bereavement,  and  leave  you  only  the  cher- 
ished memory  of  the  loved  and  lost,  and  the 
solemn  pride  that  must  be  yours  to  have  laid  so 
costly  a  sacrifice  upon  the  Altar  of  Freedom. 


FROM  HIS  ANNUAL  MESSAGE  TO  CONGRESS. 

December  6,  1864. 

"...  The  ports  of  Norfolk,  Fernandina,  and 
Pensacola  have  been  opened  by  proclamation.  It 
is  hoped  that  foreign  merchants  will  now  consider 
whether  it  is  not  safer  and  more  profitable  to 
themselves,  as  well  as  just  to  the  United  States, 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  353 

to  resort  to  these  and  other  open  ports,  than  it  is 
to  pursue,  through  many  hazards  and  at  vast  cost, 
a  contraband  trade  with  other  ports  which  are 
closed,  if  not  by  actual  military  occupation,  at 
least  by  a  lawful  and  effective  blockade. 

"  For  myself,  I  have  no  doubt  of  the  power  and 
duty  of  the  Executive,  under  the  law  of  nations, 
to  exclude  enemies  of  the  human  race  from  an 
asylum  in  the  United  States.  If  Congress  should 
think  that  proceedings  in  such  cases  lack  the 
authority  of  law,  or  ought  to  be  further  regulated 
by  it,  I  recommend  that  provision  be  made  for 
effectually  preventing  foreign  slave-traders  from 
acquiring  domicile  and  facilities  for  their  criminal 
occupation  in  our  country. 

"  It  is  possible  that  if  it  were  a  new  and  open 
question,  the  maritime  powers,  with  the  lights 
they  now  enjoy,  would  not  concede  the  privileges 
of  a  naval  belligerent  to  the  insurgents  of  the 
United  States,  destitute  as  they  are,  and  always 
have  been,  equally  of  ships  of  war  and  of  ports 
and  harbours.  Disloyal  emissaries  have  been 
neither  less  assiduous  nor  more  successful,  during 
the  last  year,  than  they  were  before  that  time  in 
their  efforts,  under  favour  of  that  privilege,  to  em- 
broil our  country  in  foreign  wars.  The  desire 
and  the  determination  of  the  governments  of  the 
23 


354  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

maritime  States  to  defeat  that  design,  are  believed 
to  be  as  sincere  as,  and  cannot  be  more  earnest 
than,  our  own. 

"...  It  is  of  noteworthy  interest,  that  the 
steady  expansion  of  population,  improvement,  and 
governmental  institutions  over  the  new  and  un- 
occupied portions  of  our  country  have  scarcely 
been  checked,  much  less  impeded  or  destroyed, 
by  our  great  civil  war,  which  at  first  glance  would 
seem  to  have  absorbed  almost  the  entire  energies 
of  the  nation. 

"...  The  war  continues.  Since  the  last 
annual  message  all  the  important  lines  and  posi- 
tions then  occupied  by  our  forces  have  been 
maintained,  and  our  arms  have  steadily  advanced, 
thus  liberating  the  regions  left  in  their  rear ;  so 
that  Missouri,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and  parts  of 
other  States  have  again  produced  reasonably  fair 
crops. 

"The  most  remarkable  feature  in  the  military 
operations  of  the  year  is  General  Sherman's 
attempted  march  of  three  hundred  miles,  directly 
through  the  insurgent  region.  It  tends  to  show 
a  great  increase  of  our  relative  strength,  that  our 
general-in-chief  should  feel  able  to  confront  and 
hold  in  check  every  active  force  of  the  enemy, 
and  yet  to  detach  a  well-appointed,  large  army 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  355 

to  move  on  such  an  expedition.  The  result  not 
yet  being  known,  conjecture  in  regard  to  it  is  not 
here  indulged. 

"...  The  most  reliable  indication  of  public 
purpose  in  this  country  is  derived  through  our 
popular  elections.  Judging  by  the  recent  canvass 
and  its  result,  the  purpose  of  the  people,  within 
the  loyal  States,  to  maintain  the  integrity  of  the 
Union,  was  never  more  nearly  unanimous  than 
now.  The  extraordinary  calmness  and  good 
order  with  which  millions  of  voters  met  and  min- 
gled at  the  polls  give  strong  assurance  of  this. 
Not  only  all  those  who  supported  the  Union 
ticket,  so  called,  but  a  great  majority  of  the 
opposing  party  also,  may  be  fairly  claimed  to 
entertain  and  to  be  actuated  by  the  same  pur- 
pose. It  is  an  unanswerable  argument  to  this 
effect,  that  no  candidate  for  any  office,  high  or 
low,  has  ventured  to  seek  votes  on  the  avowal 
that  he  was  for  giving  up  the  Union. 

"...  The  election  has  exhibited  another  fact 
not  less  valuable  to  be  known,  —  the  fact  that  we 
do  not  approach  exhaustion  in  the  most  impor- 
tant branch  of  national  resources,  that  of  living 
men.  While  it  is  melancholy  to  reflect  that  the 
war  has  filled  so  many  graves,  and  carried  mourn- 
ing to  so  many  hearts,  it  is  some  relief  to  know, 


356  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

that  compared  with  the  surviving  the  fallen  have 
been  so  few.  While  corps,  divisions,  and  brig- 
ades and  regiments  have  formed  and  fought,  and 
dwindled  and  gone  out  of  existence,  a  great 
majority  of  the  men  who  composed  them  are  still 
living.  The  election  returns  prove  this.  The 
States  regularly  holding  elections,  both  now  and 
four  years  ago,  viz.,  .  .  .  show  a  net  increase, 
during  three  years  and  a  half  of  war,  of  145,551 
votes. 

"...  It  is  not  material  to  inquire  how  the 
increase  has  been  produced,  or  to  show  that  it 
would  have  been  greater  but  for  the  war ;  which 
is  probably  true.  The  important  fact  remains 
demonstrated,  that  we  have  more  men  now  than 
we  had  when  the  war  began  ;  that  we  are  not 
exhausted  nor  in  process  of  exhaustion ;  that 
we  are  gaining  strength,  and  may,  if  need  be, 
maintain  the  contest  indefinitely.  This  as  to 
men.  Material  resources  are  now  more  complete 
and  abundant  than  ever. 

"  The  national  resources,  then,  are  unexhausted, 
and,  as  we  believe,  inexhaustible.  The  public 
purpose  to  re-establish  and  maintain  the  national 
authority  is  unchanged,  and,  as  we  believe,  un- 
changeable. The  manner  of  continuing  the  effort 
remains  to  choose.  On  careful  consideration  of 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  357 

all  the  evidence  accessible,  it  seems  to  me  that 
no  attempt  at  negotiation  with  the  insurgent 
leader  could  result  in  any  good.  He  would 
accept  nothing  short  of  severance  of  the  Union, 
—  precisely  what  we  will  not  and  cannot  give. 

"...  Between  him  and  us  the  issue  is  dis- 
tinct, simple,  and  inflexible.  It  is  an  issue  which 
can  only  be  tried  by  war  and  decided  by  victory. 
If  we  yield,  we  are  beaten.  If  the  Southern 
people  fail  him,  he  is  beaten.  Either  way,  it 
would  be  the  victory  and  defeat  following  war. 

"...  In  presenting  the  abandonment  of 
armed  resistance  to  the  national  authority  on  the 
part  of  the  insurgents  as  the  only  indispensable 
condition  to  ending  the  war  on  the  part  of  the 
government,  I  retract  nothing  heretofore  said  as 
to  slavery.  I  repeat  the  declaration  made  a  year 
ago,  that  '  while  I  remain  in  my  present  position 
I  shall  not  attempt  to  retract  or  modify  the 
Emancipation  Proclamation,  nor  shall  I  return  to 
slavery  any  person  who  is  free  by  the  terms  of 
that  proclamation,  or  by  any  of  the  Acts  of 
Congress.' 

"  If  the  people  should,  by  whatever  mode  or 
means,  make  it  an  Executive  duty  to  re-enslave 
such  persons,  another,  and  not  I,  must  be  their 
instrument  to  perform  it. 


358  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

11  In  stating  a  single  condition  of  peace,  I  mean 
simply  to  say,  that  the  war  will  cease  on  the  part 
of  the  government  whenever  it  shall  have  ceased 
on  the  part  of  those  who  began  it." 


THE  SECOND  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS. 

March  4,  1865. 

FELLOW-COUNTRYMEN  :  At  this  second  appear- 
ing to  take  the  oath  of  the  Presidential  office, 
there  is  less  occasion  for  an  extended  address 
than  there  was  at  the  first.  Then  a  statement, 
somewhat  in  detail,  of  a  course  to  be  pursued, 
seemed  fitting  and  proper.  Now,  at  the  expira- 
tion of  four  years,  during  which  public  declara- 
tions have  been  constantly  called  forth  on  every 
point  and  phase  of  the  great  contest  which  still 
absorbs  the  attention  and  engrosses  the  energies 
of  the  nation,  little  that  is  new  could  be  presented. 
The  progress  of  our  arms,  upon  which  all  else 
chiefly  depends,  is  as  well  known  to  the  public 
as  to  myself;  and  it  is,  I  trust,  reasonably 
satisfactory  and  encouraging  to  all.  With  high 
hope  for  the  future,  no  prediction  in  regard  to  it 
is  ventured. 

On   the  occasion  corresponding  to  this   four 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  359 

years  ago,  all  thoughts  were  anxiously  directed  to 
an  impending  civil  war.  All  dreaded  it,  —  all 
sought  to  avert  it.  While  the  inaugural  address 
was  being  delivered  from  this  place,  devoted 
altogether  to  saving  the  Union  without  war,  in- 
surgent agents  were  in  the  city  seeking  to  destroy 
it  without  war,  —  seeking  to  dissolve  the  Union, 
and  divide  effects,  by  negotiation.  Both  parties 
deprecated  war ;  but  one  of  them  would  make 
war  rather  than  let  the  nation  survive,  and  the 
other  would  accept  war  rather  than  let  it  perish. 
And  the  war  came. 

One  eighth  of  the  whole  population  were 
coloured  slaves,  not  distributed  generally  over 
the  Union,  but  localized  in  the  southern  part 
of  it.  These  slaves  constituted  a  peculiar  and 
powerful  interest.  All  knew  that  this  interest  was, 
somehow,  the  cause  of  the  war.  To  strengthen, 
perpetuate,  and  extend  this  interest  was  the  object 
for  which  the  insurgents  would  rend  the  Union, 
even  by  war ;  while  the  government  claimed  no 
right  to  do  more  than  to  restrict  the  territorial 
enlargement  of  it. 

Neither  party  expected  for  the  war  the  magni- 
tude or  the  duration  which  it  has  already  at- 
tained. Neither  anticipated  that  the  cause  of 
the  conflict  might  cease  with,  or  even  before, 


360  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

the  conflict  itself  should  cease.  Each  looked  for 
an  easier  triumph  and  a  result  less  fundamental 
and  astounding.  Both  read  the  same  Bible,  and 
pray  to  the  same  God ;  and  each  invokes  His 
aid  against  the  other.  It  may  seem  strange 
that  any  men  should  dare  to  ask  a  just  God's 
assistance  in  wringing  their  bread  from  the  sweat 
of  other  men's  faces ;  but  let  us  judge  not,  that 
we  be  not  judged.  The  prayers  of  both  could 
not  be  answered  —  that  of  neither  has  been 
answered  fully. 

The  Almighty  has  His  own  purposes.  "Woe 
unto  the  world  because  of  offences  !  for  it  must 
needs  be  that  offences  come ;  but  woe  to  that 
man  by  whom  the  offence  cometh."  If  we  shall 
suppose  that  American  slavery  is  one  of  those 
offences  which,  in  the  Providence  of  God,  must 
needs  come,  but  which  having  continued  through 
His  appointed  time,  He  now  wills  to  remove,  and 
that  He  gives  to  both  North  and  South  this 
terrible  war,  as  the  woe  due  to  those  by  whom 
the  offence  came,  shall  we  discern  therein  any 
departure  from  those  divine  attributes  which  the 
believers  in  a  living  God  always  ascribe  to  Him  ? 
Fondly  do  we  hope  —  fervently  do  we  pray  — 
that  this  mighty  scourge  of  war  may  speedily 
pass  away.  Yet,  if  God  wills  that  it  continue 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  361 

until  all  the  wealth  piled  by  the  bondman's  two 
hundred  and  fifty  years  of  unrequited  toil  shall 
be  sunk,  and  until  every  drop  of  blood  drawn  by 
the  lash  shall  be  paid  by  another  drawn  with  the 
sword,  as  was  said  three  thousand  years  ago,  so 
still  it  must  be  said,  "  The  judgments  of  the  Lord 
are  true  and  righteous  altogether." 

With  malice  toward  none  ;  with  charity  for  all ; 
with  firmness  in  the  right,  as  God  gives  us  to  see 
the  right,  —  let  us  strive  on  to  finish  the  work  we 
are  in  :  to  bind  up  the  nation's  wounds  ;  to  care 
for  him  who  shall  have  borne  the  battle,  and  for 
his  widow  and  his  orphan ;  to  do  all  which  may 
achieve  and  cherish  a  just  and  lasting  peace 
among  ourselves,  and  with  all  nations. 


FROM  His  ANSWER  TO  A  SERENADE  —  His 
LAST  PUBLIC  ADDRESS. 

April  n,  1865. 

"  FELLOW- CITIZENS  :  We  meet  this  evening,  not 
in  sorrow  but  in  gladness  of  heart.  The  evacua- 
tion of  Richmond  and  Petersburg,  and  the  sur- 
render of  the  principal  insurgent  army,  give  the 
hope  of  a  just  and  speedy  peace,  the  joyous 
expression  of  which  cannot  be  restrained.  In 


362  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

all  this  joy,  however,  HE  from  whom  all  blessings 
flow  must  not  be  forgotten.  A  call  for  a  national 
thanksgiving  is  in  the  course  of  preparation,  and 
will  be  duly  promulgated.  Nor  must  those 
whose  harder  part  give  us  the  cause  for  rejoicing 
be  overlooked.  Their  honours  must  not  be  par- 
celled out  with  others.  I,  myself,  was  near  the 
front,  and  had  the  high  pleasure  of  transmitting 
much  of  the  good  news  to  you ;  but  no  part  of 
the  honour  for  plan  or  execution  is  mine.  To 
General  Grant,  his  skilful  officers  and  brave  men, 
all  belongs.  The  gallant  navy  stood  ready,  but 
was  not  in  reach  to  take  an  active  part. 

"  By  these  recent  successes  the  reinauguration 
of  the  national  authority,  —  reconstruction,  — 
which  has  had  a  large  share  of  thought  from  the 
first,  is  pressed  much  more  closely  upon  our 
attention.  It  is  fraught  with  great  difficulty. 
Unlike  a  case  of  war  between  independent  na- 
tions, there  is  no  organized  organ  for  us  to  treat 
with,  —  no  one  man  has  authority  to  give  up  the 
rebellion  for  any  other  man.  We  simply  must 
begin  with  and  mould  from  disorganized  and  dis- 
cordant elements.  Nor  is  it  a  small  additional 
embarrassment  that  we,  the  loyal  people,  differ 
among  ourselves  as  to  the  mode,  manner,  and 
measure  of  reconstruction.  As  a  general  rule  I 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  363 

abstain  from  reading  the  reports  of  attacks  upon 
myself,  wishing  not  to  be  provoked  by  that  to 
which  I  cannot  properly  offer  an  answer.  In 
spite  of  this  precaution,  however,  it  comes  to  my 
knowledge  that  I  am  much  censured  for  some 
supposed  agency  in  setting  up  and  seeking  to 
sustain  the  new  State  government  of  Louisiana. 

In  this  I  have  done  just  so  much  as,  and  no 
more  than,  the  public  knows.  In  the  annual 
message  of  December,  1863,  and  in  the  accom- 
panying proclamation,  I  presented  a  plan  of 
reconstruction,  as  the  phrase  goes,  which  I  prom- 
ised, if  adopted  by  any  State,  should  be  accepta- 
ble to  and  sustained  by  the  executive  government 
of  the  nation.  I  distinctly  stated  that  this  was  not 
the  only  plan  which  might  possibly  be  acceptable, 
and  I  also  distinctly  protested  that  the  executive 
claimed  no  right  to  say  when  or  whether  members 
should  be  admitted  to  seats  in  Congress  from 
such  States.  This  plan  was  in  advance  submitted 
to  the  then  Cabinet,  and  approved  by  every 
member  of  it.  ... 

"  We  all  agree  that  the  seceded  States,  so  called, 
are  out  of  their  proper,  practical  relation  with  the 
Union,  and  that  the  sole  object  of  the  govern- 
ment, civil  and  military,  in  regard  to  those  States, 
is  to  again  get  them  into  that  proper  practical  re- 


364  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

lation.  I  believe  that  it  is  not  only  possible,  but 
in  fact  easier,  to  do  this  without  deciding  or  even 
considering  whether  these  States  have  ever  been 
out  of  the  Union,  than  with  it.  Finding  them- 
selves safely  at  home,  it  would  be  utterly  imma- 
terial whether  they  had  ever  been  abroad.  Let 
us  all  join  in  doing  the  acts  necessary  to  restoring 
the  proper  practical  relations  between  these  States 
and  the  Union,  and  each  forever  after  innocently 
indulge  his  own  opinion  whether  in  doing  the 
acts  he  brought  the  States  from  without  into  the 
Union,  or  only  gave  them  proper  assistance,  they 
never  having  been  out  of  it.  The  amount  of 
constituency,  so  to  speak,  on  which  the  new 
Louisiana  government  rests,  would  be  more  sat- 
isfactory to  all  if  it  contained  fifty  thousand,  or 
thirty  thousand,  or  even  twenty  thousand,  instead 
of  only  about  twelve  thousand,  as  it  does.  It  is 
also  unsatisfactory  to  some  that  the  elective  fran- 
chise is  not  given  to  the  coloured  man.  I  would 
myself  prefer  that  it  were  now  conferred  on  the 
very  intelligent,  and  on  those  who  serve  our  cause 
as  soldiers. 

"  Still,  the  question  is  not  whether  the  Louisiana 
government,  as  it  stands,  is  quite  all  that  is  de- 
sirable. The  question  is,  will  it  be  wiser  to  take 
it  as  it  is  and  help  to  improve  it,  or  to  reject  and 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  365 

disperse  it?  Can  Louisiana  be  brought  into 
proper  practical  relation  with  the  Union  sooner 
by  sustaining  or  by  discarding  her  new  State 
government?  Some  twelve  thousand  voters  in 
the  heretofore  slave  State  of  Louisiana  have  sworn 
allegiance  to  the  Union,  assumed  to  be  the  right- 
ful political  power  of  the  State,  held  elections, 
organised  a  State  government,  adopted  a  free- 
State  constitution,  giving  the  benefit  of  public 
schools  equally  to  black  and  white,  and  empower- 
ing the  legislature  to  confer  the  elective  franchise 
upon  the  coloured  man.  Their  legislature  has 
already  voted  to  ratify  the  constitutional  amend- 
ment recently  passed  by  Congress,  abolishing 
slavery  throughout  the  nation.  These  twelve 
thousand  persons  are  thus  fully  committed  to  the 
Union  and  to  perpetual  freedom  in  the  State,  — 
committed  to  the  very  things,  and  nearly  all  the 
things,  the  nation  wants,  —  and  they  ask  the 
nation's  recognition  and  its  assistance  to  make 
good  their  committal. 

"  If  we  reject  and  spurn  them,  we  do  our 
utmost  to  disorganise  and  disperse  them.  We,  in 
effect,  say  to  the  white  man  :  You  are  worthless 
or  worse  ;  we  will  neither  help  you,  nor  be  helped 
by  you.  To  the  blacjcs,  we  say  :  This  cup  of  lib- 
erty, which  these,  your  old  masters,  hold  to  your 


366  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

lips,  we  will  dash  from  you,  and  leave  you  to  the 
chances  of  gathering  the  spilled  and  scattered 
contents  in  some  vague  and  undefined  when, 
where,  and  how.  If  this  course,  discouraging 
and  paralysing  both  white  and  black,  has  any 
tendency  to  bring  Louisiana  into  proper,  practical 
relations  with  the  Union,  I  have  so  far  been  unable 
to  perceive  it.  If,  on  the  contrary,  we  recognise 
and  sustain  the  new  government,  the  converse  of 
all  this  is  made  true.  .  .  . 

"...  What  has  been  said  of  Louisiana  will 
apply  generally  to  other  States.  And  yet  so  great 
peculiarities  pertain  to  each  State,  and  such  im- 
portant and  sudden  changes  occur  in  the  same 
State,  and  withal  so  new  and  unprecedented  is 
the  whole  case,  that  no  exclusive  and  inflexible 
plan  can  safely  be  prescribed  as  to  details  and 
collaterals.  Such  exclusive  and  inflexible  plan 
would  surely  become  a  new  entanglement.  Im- 
portant principles  may  and  must  be  inflexible. 
In  the  present  situation,  as  the  phrase  goes,  it 
may  be  my  duty  to  make  some  new  announce- 
ment to  the  people  of  the  South.  I  am  con- 
sidering, and  shall  not  fail  to  act  when  satisfied 
that  action  will  be  proper." 


INDEX. 


"ALL  men  are  created  equal," 
Discussion  of,  59. 

Alton  meeting.  Lincoln's  reply 
to  Douglas,  172. 

Antithesis,  A  fine,  320. 

Ashmun,  Geo.,  Letter  to,  ac- 
cepting nomination,  222. 

BIXBY,  Mrs.,  Mother  of  five 
sons,  Letter  to,  352. 

Black  men  enough  to  marry 
black  women,  no. 

Black  woman  not  wanted  for 
slave  or  wife,  109. 

Brown,  John,  Republicans  not 
responsible  for,  210,  216. 

Buchanan,  President,  his  in- 
efficiency, 75. 

Bullitt,  Cuthbert,  Letter  to,  273. 

Bushwhacking,  Democratic,  218. 

CAPITAL  and  labour,  Relations 

of,  202. 
Charlestown  meeting,  Lincoln's 

rejoinder,  165. 
Chase's  amendment  to  Nebraska 

Act,  82. 
Chicago,    Speech   at,    July    10, 

1858,  86. 
Chicago  Committee  of  religious 

denominations,  281. 


Clay,  Henry,  — 

Note  on  Lincoln's  eulogy,  40. 

Lincoln's  beau  ideal,  140. 

His  views  on  slavery,  179. 
Coloured  men,  — 

Enlistment  of,  318. 

Present  a  Bible,  346. 
Columbus,     Ohio,    Address    to 
Legislature,  227. 

Speech    at,  Sept.    16,    1859, 

181. 
Congress,  Power  of,  over  slavery, 

25- 
Conkling,  James  C.,  Letter  to, 

3i3- 

Conspiracy,  Democratic,  to  per- 
petuate slavery,  122. 

Cooper  Inst.,  N.  Y.,  Speech  at, 
Feb.  27,  1860,  205. 

Corning  and  others,  Erastus, 
Note,  307. 

DECISIONS  of  Courts  discussed, 

i°3.  i39« 
Declaration  of  Ind.  includes  the 

negro,  63,  66,  114,  122. 
Democrats  convinced  by  speech 

of  July  10,  1858,  86. 
Direct  taxation  opposed,  35. 
Divided-house  speech,  71,  — 

Defended  against  Douglas,  95. 

Was  carefully  prepared,  96. 


368 


INDEX. 


Douglas,  S.  A.,  — 
Lincoln's  reply  to,  at  Peoria, 

43- 
Was  right  in   opposing   Le- 

compton  constitution,  92. 
Approves  Jackson's  refusal  to 

obey  decision  of  Court,  105, 

138. 
Claims  that  Republicans  are 

his  friends,  105. 
"  Don't  care  if  slavery  is  voted 

up  or  down,"  107. 
Wants   to   take    Republicans 

into  camp,  108. 
Says    government    made  for 

white  men,  109. 
Says  Germans  not  included  in 

Declaration,  113. 
Expects  to  be  President  and 

distribute  offices,  117. 
Plan  in  N.  Y.  to  annihilate 

Lincoln,  118. 
Quotes  Lincoln  inaccurately, 

120. 

Conspired  to  nationalise  sla- 
very, 123. 
Charges  Lincoln  with  inciting 

sectional  war,  124. 
Places  slavery  on  a  new  basis, 

ISO- 
Destroyed  by  his  answers  at 

Freeport,  142. 
Guilty  of  falsification,  144. 
Article  in  Harper's  Magazine, 

1 86. 
Speech  at  Memphis  criticised, 

198. 

Dred  Scott  case. — 
Discussed,  60,  74,  140. 


Dred  Scott  case,  — 
Judge   Nelson's  opinion,   82, 

102. 

Not  to  be  obeyed  as  a  politi- 
cal rule,  1 02. 

Durant,  T.  J.,  Comments  on 
letter  of,  273. 

EARLY    writings  and  opinions 

of  Lincoln,  7,  24. 
Education, — 

Favoured,  15. 

Lincoln's  want  of,  96. 
Eighty-two    years,     Why    gov- 
ernment has  endured,  97. 
Emancipation,  — 

Compensated,  offered,  269. 

Reasons  for  postponing,  282. 

Proclamation    as    submitted, 
294. 

Proclamation,  Final,  295. 
Explanation    of     divided-house 

speech,  97. 

FEMALE  suffrage  favoured,  24. 

"  Fizzlegigs  and  fireworks,"  49. 

Fourth  of  July,  Uses  of,  no. 

Freedom  must  be  entrusted  to 
its  friends,  85. 

Freeport  meeting  of  Aug.  27, 
1858,  142. 

Freeport  meeting,  Lincoln's  re- 
ply to  Douglas,  147. 

Free  States  no  right  to  interfere 
with  slavery,  98. 

GALESBURG  meeting,  Lincoln's 
reply  to  Douglas,  169. 

Gasparin,  Count,  Letter  to,  277. 

Gentleman  inside,  Lincoln  hopes 
he  is,  120. 


INDEX. 


369 


Germans,  Douglas  says,  are  not 
included  in  Declaration,  113. 

Gettysburg  address,  324. 

Grant,  General,  Letter  to,  April 
30,  1864,  338. 

Greeley,  Horace,  Letter  to,  279. 

Growth  of  the  country  in  eighty- 
two  years,  no. 

Gurney,  Mrs.  E.  P.,  Letter  to, 
344- 

HODGES,  A.  G.,  Letter  to,  330. 
Hooker,  General,  Letter  to,  303. 
Horse-chestnut  not  a  chestnut 

horse,  126. 
Hunter,  General,   Proclamation 

revoked,  268. 

IMPORTANCE  of  divided-house 

speech,  71. 
Inaugural  Address,  — 

The  first,  240,  248. 

The  second,  358. 
Independence    Hall,    Phil.,  Ad- 
dress at,  234. 
Indiana  Legislature,  Address  to, 

225. 
Indianapolis,   Address  at,  Feb. 

ii,  1861,  224. 
Internal  improvements  favoured, 

10. 

JACKSON,  President,  would  not 
be  bound  by  decision,  105. 

Jonesboro'  meeting,  Sept.  15, 
1858,  149. 

July  Fourth,  Uses  of,  no. 

KANSAS,  Slavery  in,  discussed, 

55- 


LABOUR,  — 

Source  of  human  comforts,  201. 

and  capital  discussed,  263. 
Lecompton  constitution, — 

Douglas  right  in  opposing,  92. 

Defeated  by  Republicans,  93. 
Lincoln, — 

Intends  to  conduct  campaign 
as  a  gentleman,  120. 

Accuses    Douglas    of     false 
charges,  124. 

Comments  on  Douglas's  an- 
swers to  his  questions,  156. 
Lincoln's  lean  face,  no  offices  in 

it,  118. 
Lutheran  ministers,   Reply  to, 

265. 

MACHINERY  to  make  Kansas  a 

slave  State,  77. 

Manchester  working-men,  Let- 
ter to,  300. 
McClellan,  General,   Letter  to, 

266. 
Message  to  Congress,  — 

Sp.  Session,  July  4,  1861,  249. 

Reg.    "       Dec.  3,  1861,  259. 
"        "       Dec.  i,  1862,  287. 

Sp.       "       Jan.  17, 1863,  298. 

Reg.     "       Dec.  8,  1863,  325. 

Dec.  6,  1864,  352. 
Methodist  delegation,  Reply  to, 

339- 

Military  coat-tail  speech,  40. 
Missouri  Compromise,  repealed 

by  Douglas,  153. 
Mixture  of  races,  Douglas  on, 

no. 
Mother  of  Lincoln,  2. 


24 


370 


INDEX. 


NEBRASKA  Act,  Chase's  amend- 
ment to,  defeated,  82. 

Nebraska  Bill  discussed,  134. 

Negro,  equal  of  any  man  in 
right  to  eat  bread,  122,  127. 

Negro  citizenship,  Lincoln  op- 
poses, 165. 

Negroes,  their  condition  grow- 
ing worse,  63. 

Nelson,  Judge,  opinion  in  Dred 
Scott  case,  82. 

New  Haven,  Conn.,  Speech  at, 
213. 

Niche  for  Dred  Scott  decision, 
79,  82,  135,  146. 

No  man  good  enough  to  govern 
another  without  his  consent, 
49- 

OHIO    Democratic   convention, 

Answer  to  resolutions  of,  308. 

Ohio  Regiment,  i64th,  Address 

to,  343- 

Origin  and  qualities  of  Lin- 
coln, 2. 

Ottawa  meeting,  Aug.  21,  1858, 
124. 

PENNSYLVANIA,  Reply  to  Gov- 
ernor of,  236. 

People,  Right  of,  to  make  con- 
stitutions, 90. 

Peoria,  Speech  at,  43. 

Philadelphia,  Address  at,  Feb. 
22,  1861,  234. 

Pillow,  Fort,  Massacre  of,  336. 

Pittsburgh,  Address  at,  229. 

Political  institutions,  Perpetua- 
tion of,  19. 


Popular   sovereignty   dissected, 

87,  131,  185. 
Presbyterian    ministers,    Letter 

to,  306. 
Protective  tariff  advocated,  35. 

RAILROADS  favoured,  u. 
Reed,  Rev.  Alex.,  Letter  to,  -305. 
Republicans    should    stand    by 

their  principles,  109,  118. 
Reverence    for    law   should   be 

taught,  21. 
Right  or  wrong  of  slavery,  175, 

180. 

SABBATH,  Order  for  observance 

of,  286. 

Sangamon  Co.,  Address  to  elec- 
tors of,  9,  12. 
Sanitary  Fair,  — 

Washington,  Remarks  at,  329. 

Baltimore,  Remarks  at,  334. 

Philadelphia,  Remarks  at,  341. 
Scripture  quoted,  115. 
Serenade,  — 

Reply  to,  Oct.  19,  1864,  347. 

Reply  to,  Nov.  10,  1864,  349. 

April  n,  1865,  361. 
Slavery, — 

Lincoln's  first  object  lesson 
in,  54. 

A  political  machine,  77. 

Could  be  made  lawful  in  free 
States  by  another  decision, 

83- 

Peaceable  extinction  of,  be- 
lieved in,  97. 

Now  claimed  to  be  perpetual, 
97,  98. 


INDEX. 


371 


Slavery, — 

Momentous    importance    of, 

106. 

Not  to  be  interfered  with  in 
States     where     authorised, 
127. 
Always  an  element  of  discord, 

129,  154. 
Chief  cause  of  division,  173, 

187. 

How  the  founders  looked  up- 
on it,  150. 

Snake  as  a  figure  of  speech,  215. 
Speed,   Joshua   F.,    Letter   to; 

slaves  in  shackles,  53. 
Springfield,  — 

Debate    with     Douglas    and 

others  at,  26. 
June,  1857,  The  Dred  Scott 

case,  60. 
The     divided-house     speech, 

June  17,  1858,  71. 
Speech,  July  17,  1858,  117. 
Farewell  to  citizens  of.  Feb. 

n,  1861,  223. 
Springfield  Lyceum, — 

Address  before,  in  1837,  18. 
Squatter   sovereignty   discussed 

and  eviscerated,  73,  77,  88. 
State  sovereignty  discussed,  255. 
Sugar-coated  rebellion,  253. 
Simmer,  Brooks's  assault  upon, 

150. 

Swapping  horses  while  crossing 
the  stream,  340. 


TARIFF,  Views  on  the,  230. 

Temperance,  Address  on,  Spring- 
field, 1842,  29. 

Thanksgiving  proclamation,  Oct. 
3,  1863,  321. 

Thoroughness  of  Lincoln's  stud- 
ies, 6. 

Trenton,  N.  J.,  Address  at,  232. 

Trumbull,  Judge,  Bargain  with, 
denied,  152. 

UNION,  Why  possible  for  eighty 

years,  5. 
Union  of    Illinois   Republicans 

justified,  148. 
Union  League,  Reply  to,  on  his 

re-nomination,  340. 
United  States,  Growth  of,  no. 
Usury  opposed,  14. 

VALLANDIGHAM,  C.L.,  Reasons 
for  arrest  of,  309. 

WASHBURNE,  E.  B.,on  Freeport 

meeting,  142. 
Washington,    Reply   to    Mayor 

of,  238. 
Whig  Committee,   Circular  of, 

34- 

White  men,  Douglas  claims 
government  made  for,  exclu- 
sively, 109. 

Wilmot  proviso,  — 
Origin  of,  44. 
Voted  for  forty  times,  59. 


